Ferguson said: "If you were looking for the player you would replace Keane with, it's Gerrard, without question. He has become the most influential player in England, bar none.
"Not that Vieira lacks anything, but I think that Gerrard does more for his team than Vieira does. To me, Gerrard is Keane; he is now where Keane was when Roy came to us in 1994. I've watched him quite a lot, and everywhere the ball is, he seems to be there.
"He's got that unbelievable engine, desire, determination. Anyone would take Gerrard. Vieira has done that job for Arsenal for two or three years. But you can see Gerrard rising and rising."