Rio Ferdinand urges Manchester United and Chelsea to sign Myles Lewis-Skelly
Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United and Chelsea to stop hesitating and move decisively for Arsenal starlet Myles Lewis-Skelly, insisting the teenager is the kind of talent you simply don’t pass up.
According to reports, Arsenal have offered the 19-year-old England international to both clubs this summer after a season in which he emerged as one of Mikel Arteta’s most important late-season weapons. Lewis-Skelly fought through a stuttering start to the 2025-26 campaign, then burst into the side when it mattered most, helping drive Arsenal to the Premier League title and into the Champions League final.
That rise has not gone unnoticed. Nor has Arsenal’s willingness to listen to bids.
Arteta’s side have just pushed through a £75 million deal for Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, a move that has opened the door for Lewis-Skelly’s potential exit despite his growing influence in north London.
Ferdinand’s message: “Press the green button”
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand made it clear where he stands. For him, United should already be at the front of the queue.
“If I’m Manchester United right now I say press the green button and buy him, take him, right now,” Ferdinand said. “What a player, a top player. He was a massive part of the team when he was brought in towards the end of the season. He contributed to Arsenal winning the league, he was brilliant and came in and produced.
“If he’s on the market and he’s a good price you have to take him. The good price I’m saying is £60m or £70m. If that’s the case, get the chequebook out, slap it down and sign him. No questions asked, I would take him.”
For Ferdinand, a fee in that range represents value in a market where proven, versatile, homegrown talent is at a premium.
More than a midfielder
Lewis-Skelly’s appeal isn’t limited to what he does in the middle of the pitch. His ability to operate at left-back has caught Ferdinand’s eye as a tactical solution for United’s long-standing depth issue on that flank.
“He’s young, a huge talent, can play in two positions and I think mentally he’s made of the right stuff,” Ferdinand explained.
United leaned heavily on Luke Shaw last season, and while the England defender stayed fit and featured regularly, there is no like-for-like understudy. Ferdinand pointed out that Patrick Dorgu is now viewed more as a left-winger, while Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot are both more comfortable on the right and not natural left-backs.
“The left-back position at Manchester United is not a problem because we’ve got Luke Shaw who played a lot of games last season and stayed fit. But if he does get injured we haven’t got a natural left-back sitting there,” Ferdinand said. “Dorgu is more of a left-winger now and Mazraoui and Dalot aren’t full left-backs. So that’s an area I think you can bring in someone like Myles Lewis-Skelly and he can play man, definitely.”
In Ferdinand’s eyes, Lewis-Skelly would not just pad out the squad. He would immediately raise the level and give a manager the flexibility to tweak systems without a drop in quality.
A career at a crossroads
Since making his senior debut for boyhood club Arsenal in 2024, Lewis-Skelly has already racked up 75 first-team appearances. His emergence earned him six caps for England, underlining his rapid ascent, even if Thomas Tuchel left him out of his most recent World Cup squad.
That omission only adds an extra edge to the next move. The next club he chooses will shape not just his domestic career but his international prospects as well.
Arsenal’s stance is clear enough: with Guimaraes through the door and big money already spent, they are prepared to cash in if the right offer lands on the table. The ball now sits firmly in Manchester and west London.
Do United back Ferdinand’s call and go all in on a player who could anchor their midfield and cover a problem position? Do Chelsea, still rebuilding and always hungry for elite young talent, step in and make their own play?
Lewis-Skelly is available. The fee is set. The question now is who has the nerve – and the chequebook – to act first.
