Why Man Utd set up Ten Hag's new Twitter account that's limited to one follower

New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has set up his own Twitter account - to stop people attempting to impersonate him on social media.

United sources have confirmed to Mirror Sport that the account- which has the handle @eriktenhag - belongs to Ten Hag, although the Dutchman is not expected to be active on it once the new Premier League season kicks off in August. The account is locked and has one hidden follower, but has been verified by the social medial platform. It has been created on his behalf by digital experts at Old Trafford.

United insist a host of people have set-up bogus accounts claiming to be the former Ajax manager and were keen to create a genuine one to distinguish him from the fake ones. It is understood other people could post messages on behalf of Ten Hag, with his approval, that would relate to sponsorship and commercial promotions. Manchester City rival Pep Guardiola also has an official Twitter account, although he is not thought to post messages on it himself.

Despite struggling to win trophies in recent seasons, United remain a commercial monster and one of the richest clubs in the world.

United CEO Richard Arnold is keen to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Ed Woodward and drive the club's huge revenue streams through various social media outlets. United are one of the most popular clubs on the planet in terms of social media interaction and have 20.52 million followers on Twitter, as well as 32.18 million on Instagram.

United bosses have been criticised in the past for being more focused on social media streams than creating teams capable of winning titles.

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Back in 2020 Arnold found himself ridiculed when fans took exception to him bragging about how the club's underwhelming loan signing of Odion Ighalo was trending online.

Arnold, who was managing director at the time, pointed out to club investors on a quarterly call to them that the forward was trending worldwide ahead of Brexit and President Donald Trump's impeachment case, when he joined United on January 31.

It remains to be seen how well Ten Hag copes with the constant commercial demands of a club the size of United. Former boss David Moyes underestimated what a giant brand United was when he replaced Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013 and the Scot found himself sacked just 10 months later.