England defender Rio Ferdinand said the appointment of Terry Venables at Leeds United to replace sacked manager David O'Leary was good news for the English premier league club.
After an impressive World Cup the 23-year-old Londoner has been linked with a 35.0 million pound move to Manchester United, but Ferdinand said he had not been told of any plans to sell him.
Leeds fans will be hoping the arrival of former England, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur coach Venables may persuade him to stay at the club.
"It's great news for the club," Ferdinand told the Sun newspaper. "I am looking forward to meeting Mr Venables and hearing his plans."
"His record speaks for itself. He has a proven track record and although I was sorry to see David O'Leary go, if you have to get a replacement then Terry Venables is the man.
"My position has never changed in all this. People have said a deal has been done to sell me, but it hasn't as far as I know.
"I spoke to the chairman before I went to Las Vegas on my holiday and we agreed to talk when I got back to training.
"I won't go into details about what was said, but I am still a Leeds player and I haven't asked for transfer."
ENGLAND SESSIONS
When Venables was England manager, from 1994-96, he included the young Ferdinand in his squad training sessions, something which the central defender has never forgotten.
"Terry Venables was brilliant to me and I learned quickly about his man-management skills," he told the paper.
"You would see him coming along the corridor and he would just stop and have a word, saying 'Well played today, son, keep it going' or something like that.
"He was always encouraging you and made you feel like you were one of the lads. You walked away from conversations with him feeling fantastic and that you could do anything."
But Leeds have said they need to sell players before the start of the season and a big money move for Ferdinand would go a long way to clearing a transfer deficit of 60 million pounds incurred during O'Leary's three and a half years in charge.
"I really don't know how many players the club needs to sell or how much they need to raise but we all understand that money doesn't grow on trees. I may be only 23 but I feel like time's moving on and I'm not getting any younger. It's a relatively short career and when you finish you want to look back on what you've achieved.
"The clearest way of assessing it is to look at your medals - and I don't have any."
The Londoner also had some words for O'Leary, who paid 18 million pounds for Ferdinand two years ago, a move that was seen by many as a massive gamble on an unproven talent.
"I hope I repaid him and I will always be grateful to him. I haven't rung him yet but I will do because there were no problems between us. I've never asked to leave and the club haven't told me they are selling me. But the change has happened now and we have to move on.
"With Mr Venables in charge, I'm sure Leeds can look forward to an exciting future."
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Sounds like a well crafted statement that was designed to keep Rio's options open, should he stay at Leeds or move to United.
After an impressive World Cup the 23-year-old Londoner has been linked with a 35.0 million pound move to Manchester United, but Ferdinand said he had not been told of any plans to sell him.
Leeds fans will be hoping the arrival of former England, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur coach Venables may persuade him to stay at the club.
"It's great news for the club," Ferdinand told the Sun newspaper. "I am looking forward to meeting Mr Venables and hearing his plans."
"His record speaks for itself. He has a proven track record and although I was sorry to see David O'Leary go, if you have to get a replacement then Terry Venables is the man.
"My position has never changed in all this. People have said a deal has been done to sell me, but it hasn't as far as I know.
"I spoke to the chairman before I went to Las Vegas on my holiday and we agreed to talk when I got back to training.
"I won't go into details about what was said, but I am still a Leeds player and I haven't asked for transfer."
ENGLAND SESSIONS
When Venables was England manager, from 1994-96, he included the young Ferdinand in his squad training sessions, something which the central defender has never forgotten.
"Terry Venables was brilliant to me and I learned quickly about his man-management skills," he told the paper.
"You would see him coming along the corridor and he would just stop and have a word, saying 'Well played today, son, keep it going' or something like that.
"He was always encouraging you and made you feel like you were one of the lads. You walked away from conversations with him feeling fantastic and that you could do anything."
But Leeds have said they need to sell players before the start of the season and a big money move for Ferdinand would go a long way to clearing a transfer deficit of 60 million pounds incurred during O'Leary's three and a half years in charge.
"I really don't know how many players the club needs to sell or how much they need to raise but we all understand that money doesn't grow on trees. I may be only 23 but I feel like time's moving on and I'm not getting any younger. It's a relatively short career and when you finish you want to look back on what you've achieved.
"The clearest way of assessing it is to look at your medals - and I don't have any."
The Londoner also had some words for O'Leary, who paid 18 million pounds for Ferdinand two years ago, a move that was seen by many as a massive gamble on an unproven talent.
"I hope I repaid him and I will always be grateful to him. I haven't rung him yet but I will do because there were no problems between us. I've never asked to leave and the club haven't told me they are selling me. But the change has happened now and we have to move on.
"With Mr Venables in charge, I'm sure Leeds can look forward to an exciting future."
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Sounds like a well crafted statement that was designed to keep Rio's options open, should he stay at Leeds or move to United.
