Friday, October 6 2006 16:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Manchester: Rio Ferdinand claims midfielder Michael Carrick is the perfect man to replace the injured Owen Hargreaves for England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Macedonia in Manchester on Saturday.

Manchester United star Carrick, 25, is in a three-way fight with Everton's Phil Neville and Newcastle captain Scott Parker for the holding role vacated by Hargreaves, who is out with a broken leg sustained while playing for Bayern Munich last month.

Carrick and Hargreaves could have formed a midfield partnership at United this season had Old Trafford manager Sir Alex Ferguson been successful in his attempts to sign Hargreaves from Bayern.

But with a vacancy now having been created in the England starting eleven by Hargreaves, United and England defender Ferdinand believes that Carrick has all the attributes to claim the position.

Ferdinand said, "Owen has been one of our star performers in the team. He has been doing really well for us and he will be a big absence in our next couple of games."

"I would have loved to have seen him sign for United during the summer because he is a top quality player and, who knows, maybe something will happen in the future," he said.

"But his injury has opened the door for somebody like Michael Carrick to come in and Michael is a fantastic player as well. I have known Michael for years, stretching back to our time together as kids at West Ham, and he is a different type of player to Owen," he said.

"He has it all, though, and whenever United played against Tottenham while Michael was there, he was the player we were warned about most in the teamtalks before the game

"The manager, Steve McClaren, has a lot of options, though. Phil Neville can play in the holding role, as can Scott Parker, so it may depend on the formation.

"Whoever the manager picks, you cannot single out that one person as the one to help the team keep clean sheets. That role starts with the forwards up-front and works through the side, so whoever comes in for Owen will just be a part of that," he said.