Erik ten Hag may be forced into nightmare Man Utd transfer ultimatum

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag may have to be selective over which Ajax star he signs this summer with the Dutch side being stubborn over summer sales.

The Red Devils have been linked with a number of Ten Hag's former players following his switch to Old Trafford in the summer. Chief among those have been the likes of Brazilian winger Antony - reports suggesting that the club have sent a delegation over to Amsterdam in an attempt to negotiate a deal.

Meanwhile, Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez has also emerged as a target for United with the club keen to bolster their leaky defence but other interest from Arsenal has made a move slightly problematic.

There was also reported interest in promising young centre back Jurrien Timber but the 21-year-old has already turned down the prospect of a switch after former Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal advised him that a move to Old Trafford might not be in his best interest.

Even if United overcome those various sticking points, then there are further obstacles that they must navigate should they genuinely harbour aspirations of signing Martinez or Antony this summer. Mirror Sport understands that Ajax are not keen on allowing a max exodus from the Johan Cruyff Arena from the current window, with a number of players having already moved on.

The likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui have already bid farewell having joined Bayern Munich whilst star striker Sebastien Haller also looks to be on the verge of his own move to the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund emerging as candidates for his services.

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That leaves United in a tricky situation in the fact that they may only be able to tempt the current Eredivisie champions into selling one - either Antony or Martinez - and it would be down to Ten Hag to decide which he would prefer at Old Trafford. That situation would only change with a huge offer and with a number of holes to fill in the current squad, it appears unlikely that the club would want to use up the majority of their summer resources on just two positions.

Central midfield is also a position that is in dire need of attention following the departures of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata. Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong continues to be linked with his own move to Old Trafford but the signing of the Dutchman is not expected to be cheap either with Barcelona having put a £70m price tag on the former Ajax star.

It is suggested that United are not willing to pay that much for the 25-year-old with a couple of other options having been mentioned in the past. Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ruben Neves has long been linked with a switch to Old Trafford whilst Leicester star Youri Tielemans would also be a far cheaper alternative with it looking likely that he will leave the East Midlands this summer.