Rio: Evans Will Fight For My Place

Rio Ferdinand believes Jonny Evans is in the frame to become his long-term successor at Old Trafford.

The Reds centre-back is a big admirer of the Northern Ireland international and feels it's disrespectful for people to start talking about England Under-21 duo Phil Jones and Chris Smalling replicating their England Under-21 partnership at United in years to come.

Sir Alex has ensured the club is well stocked for young defenders and Ferdinand was asked during his exclusive ManUtd.com webchat if Smalling and Jones could form a pairing as good as his current combination with captain Nemanja Vidic.

"You can't discount Jonny Evans either," replied Rio. "It's a bit out of order that people have been saying it's definitely going to be Chris and Phil.

"Jonny's also one of the most talented central defenders in Great Britain. I'm sure all three of them will be battling it out in the future to play in the centre of defence. It's great that this club has players in all positions that will be the future of this club.

"Whether they'll be as good as me and Vida, only time will tell."