Man Utd power struggle involving Martinez speaks volumes for Ten Hag

One of the biggest challenges facing Erik ten Hag at Manchester United was persuading the club's hierarchy to listen to his transfer advice.

Yet it appears the Dutchman has plenty of power at Old Trafford already. On Sunday, the Red Devils announced they've agreed a £55.3million deal with Ajax for defender Lisandro Martinez... despite the recruitment department advising chiefs to sign a different defender.

The Argentina international, 24, has agreed a five-year deal at United worth £120,000-a-week. He is Ten Hag's third signing since he started his new job in May after defender Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord and former Brentford playmaker Christian Eriksen.

According to The Telegraph, United's recruitment department wanted the board to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres. The 25-year-old centre-back has been linked with the Red Devils for some time and boasts an impressive CV, making 102 La Liga outings to date.

The Spaniard has won 19 senior caps at international level and was part of the squad that reached the final of last summer's Olympics and the Nations League in 2021. Torres helped Villarreal defeat United on penalties in the Europa League final 14 months ago.

Despite this, Ten Hag insisted United signed Martinez instead. He is Ajax's reigning Player of the Year and has made 120 appearances for the club since joining in the summer of 2019. He's won four trophies during that time - including two Eredivisie titles.

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Martinez has also been capped seven times by Argentina, helping them win the Copa America and Finalissima - a one-off game against the champions of South America and Europe - since his debut. It's an impressive record, one that Ten Hag has helped to create.

Ten Hag made his feelings known to the board and they listened... yet not every United manager has enjoyed that privileged. Jose Mourinho was a vocal critic of the club's transfer policy during his time in charge after missing out on a number of transfer targets.

"Football is changing," whinged Mourinho in August 2018. "Probably football managers should be called more head coaches. We have big multi-functional coaching staffs and I think we are more the head coach than the manager."

Mourinho went on to say: "I had my plans for many months and I find myself in the beginning of the Premier League, with the market closed, I find myself in a situation which I did not think I was going to be in. I think it will be the last time I speak about it. It's finished, the market is closed and no more talk about it."

And it's not the first time Ten Hag has persuaded the United board to listen to his recommendations. The club's chiefs were concerned about appointing Steve McClaren as their assistant manager due to his previous connections with the club.

McClaren was Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant when they clinched the Treble during the 1998/99 campaign and there were fears his return would be a nostalgic step into the past rather than a brave move into the future. Yet Ten Hag persuaded them to think otherwise.

Although it's still early days, it appears Ten Hag does have a lot of influence at United. He's looking more like a manager than a head coach - as Mourinho would put it - and many fans will be glad about that. Only time will tell if these are wise decisions, though.