Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Erik Ten Hag's Man Utd transfer concerns highlights where the club must improve

mirror.co.uk, 12 April 2022, 04:00
Erik Ten Hag remains the favourite for the Manchester United job, but the Ajax boss' purported consideration of RB Leipzig will surely stun the Old Trafford chiefs GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS - APRIL 2: Erik ten Hag of Ajax during the Dutch Eredivisie match between FC Groningen and Ajax at Euroborg on April 2, 2022 in Groningen, Netherlands (Photo by Peter Lous/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

If Manchester United are to appoint Erik ten Hag, they will do so after the Ajax boss had his head turned by RB Leipzig.

Mirror Sport revealed that the Bundesliga giants have made an audacious attempt to coerce the 52-year-old manager from under United's nose. Considering current interim manager Ralf Rangnick helped lay the foundations for Leipzig's spectacular ascent ad consolidation as regular Champions League participants, such a move would be a painful irony.

As things stand, Leipzig will be able to offer Ten Hag the opportunity to compete in the Champions League with a young and ambitious squad that plays a style not too dissimilar to his Ajax side. But above all else, Ten Hag's current reluctance is also understood to be attributed to the level of influence he feels he would have in player recruitment.

Further reports from the Times understand Ten Hag is concerned about the level of overhaul currently required at Old Trafford, as well as the level of say he will have in their incomings and outgoings. Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, and Tahith Chong are currently set to leave on a free transfer at the end of the current campaign.

Many more want to follow those aces out of the door, including but not limited to Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek, Dean Henderson, and Eric Bailly. An entire starting eleven of players are either departing the club or want to and no manager in world football would want to arrive at a club with few players.

Except, this picture is the current proposition on show to Ten Hag and Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is still a genuine possibility. Whoever becomes the club's first permanent manager since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will need to have an enormous say in the player who fill this void.

Do you think Manchester United will be able to convince Erik ten Hag to join the club? Let us know in the comments

The philosophy underpinning United's transfer strategy since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement has so far only brought one FA Cup, the Europa League, and the League Cup. This is before divulging into the growing list of potential departures.

As fierce rivals Liverpool and Manchester City continue to surge even further ahead and their current top four rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur grow even stronger, United are seemingly being left behind. The only positive they can take from recent weeks is that Arsenal's shock defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion have kept United in the race for the top four.

But even if United are somehow able to drag their way into the top four at the end of the season, the very fact that Ten Hag is even considering a move to a side which was only founded in 2009 over the Reds, should ring numerous alarm bells. Ten Hag is still believed to be the favourite for the United job and could still come through the Old Trafford doors at the end of the campaign - but this series of events needs to be the catalyst of a major reconsideration at Old Trafford.

Top News

23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Yemen and Saudi Arabia will celebrate Christmas Day by facing each other on matchday two of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Wednesday at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City. 23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk First place in Group B of the Arabian Gulf Cup will be at stake on Wednesday as Bahrain and Iraq celebrate Christmas Day at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait. 23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United transfer target Randal Kolo Muani is very likely to leave Paris Saint-Germain in the January transfer window, according to reports. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly set their sights on West Ham United attacker Mohammed Kudus, with Pep Guardiola keen to strengthen his struggling squad. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly set to rival Arsenal for the signature of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the summer of 2025. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The final Premier League gameweek before Christmas appropriately served up some crackers, including a festive feast of goals in North London, where Liverpool ran riot in an exhilarating 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Even when the pulse settled a little after this compellingspectacle it was still difficult to know quite where to start todissect this nine-goal thriller. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Ange Postecoglou cut an irritated figure as he claimed he's going to stop answering questions about Tottenham's tactics. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Borussia Dortmund attacker Julian Brandt next month. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Mohamed Salah refused to give anything away when asked whether he could break Ian Rush's all-time goalscoring record after the Reds' remarkable 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's astonishing 6-3 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening saw a multitude of records and achievements surpassed, as the Reds moved four points clear at the top of the table. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Ahli have reportedly emerged as the favourites to sign Marcus Rashford, with the Manchester United attacker widely expected to be on the move during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Everton have become surprise leaders in one statistic across Europe thanks to their draw at home to Chelsea. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will spend Christmas Day four points clear at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a breathtaking 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur in North London. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Kylian Mbappe struck a landmark effort to put himself firmly among Real Madrid's elite. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that he is "absolutely happy" with his side's goalless draw at Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 talksport.com If you thought Mohamed Salah couldn't set yet another record, think again. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk For a second time in successive Gulf Cup competitions, The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait will meet in the group stage, with this upcoming game taking place on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Amad International Stadium in Kuwait City. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong is supposedly not a 'concrete target' for Liverpool amid speculation over Trent Alexander-Arnold's future. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid moved into second spot in the La Liga table courtesy of a 4-2 success over Sevilla in Sunday afternoon's contest at Bernabeu, with Los Blancos ending 2024 on a high note. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Oman and Qatar will compete in the Gulf Cup for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, each seeking their first victory in this edition of the tournament. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly received offers from three clubs for defender Eric Garcia, but the player is pushing against a move away from Catalonia during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have broken two unwanted club Premier League records in their humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk New Wolverhampton Wanderers' boss Vitor Pereira earned three points when his side comfortably beat Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City 3-0 away from home on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Aaron Ramsdale was spotted wearing a modified goalkeeper glove in Southampton's Premier League clash at Fulham. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea squandered the chance to go top of the Premier League table for a couple of hours as Everton held the Blues to a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Djed Spence has been named in the Tottenham Hotspur starting XI for their Premier League clash with Liverpool, while Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo get the nod up front for the visitors. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Manchester United were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth in a defeat that saw Ruben Amorim's side achieve an unwanted record. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Gary Neville believes that Ruben Amorim will allow Marcus Rashford to leave Manchester United for the sake of 'himself and the club'. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Pep Guardiola isn't immune from the sack at Manchester City having continued their unprecedented and dismal run of form.