Paulo Dybala does not have the "minerals" to play for Manchester United , according to Rio Ferdinand.
The Argentine was heavily linked with a switch to Old Trafford over the summer but is still a Juventus player following the closure of the English transfer window.
It was suggested that Juve were open to including the 25-year-old in any discussions with United regarding Romelu Lukaku - who eventually secured an €80 million (£74m/$90m) switch to Serie A side Inter.
Dybala reportedly snubbed the opportunity to enter into talks with United, before then seeing a potential deadline day switch to Tottenham break down over image rights.
And Ferdinand believes Solskjaer missing out on Dybala has actually done the United boss a favour - by allowing him to put his faith in youth.
Ferdinand believes his former employers in Manchester avoided another potential disaster in the South American, with the right approach having been favoured in snapping up young players with an appetite to further themselves and do well for the club.
The ex-United defender told the Daily Star: “A lot of players have declined coming to Man United in recent years. They’ve chosen somewhere else.
“But I don’t know how Dybala had the audacity to turn them down when he’s on the bench at Juventus. He needs to start playing some football.
“Maybe he’s thinking: ‘I want to be Champions League or I’ll sit on the bench. I’d rather do that than play at Man United.’
“Well, I’m happy he didn’t come then because you haven’t got the right minerals that I want in a Man United player!
“I want someone who wants to come and thinks: ‘Man United need to get back to being a top team, I want to be the catalyst’. That’s the type of person you want to come through the door.
“Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] has gone with younger players. [Daniel] James and [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka are two young, young, young players with huge potential. They’re projects.
“Wan-Bissaka a little bit less because he’s played in the Premier League, but James is a nice project for the long-term because he has that youth, that pace that can excite people.
“If he can work on that on the training field, give him a few games, then hopefully he can keep on flourishing.
“Jose Mourinho didn’t say: ‘I’m going to go down that route’. He might have wanted Harry Maguire, but he’s still 26. We’re talking young English players. He bought [Nemanja] Matic, Fred, established players.
“I just hope Ole gets the time and the team shows some signs early on this season that they are going in the right direction.
“United fans are loyal fans and understanding fans. If they see an idea that is being nurtured in the right direction for the future of the club, they’ll get behind it. It’s important they see that early.â€
United fans were given plenty of encouragement in the club’s first Premier League outing of 2019-20, with a clinical performance against Chelsea delivering a 4-0 win, a commanding debut from Maguire and a goal off the bench for new boy James.
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