Krishnan Sreekumar
Former Holland international says Manchester United need to axe three big-money flops if Ajax boss Erik ten Hag takes over
Speaking on his chat show Vandaag Inside (h/t Express), former Holland international Rene van der Gijp has named a few players that potential new incoming manager Erik ten Hag should sell in order to succeed at Manchester United.
United are currently led by Ralf Rangnick, who was roped in from Lokomotiv Moscow to take over at the club after they dismissed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer late last year after a poor string of results that saw the side slip down the Premier League table.
The German has been appointed as interim manager, given the task of guiding the team to a top-four finish this season in order to play Champions League football next term. His role as head coach ends in the summer, following which the Red Devils are expected to bring in a new permanent manager.
Ajax Amsterdam boss ten Hag has been touted to be one of the favourites to land the job ahead of the new season, given the impressive work he has been doing in the Eredivisie in charge of the Dutch giants.
“Ronaldo, Pogba, Maguire”
The 52-year-old head coach is on course to lead Ajax to a hat-trick of league titles, and has also won a couple of cup competitions during his tenure in Amsterdam. With United currently on a five-year trophy drought, it is plain to see why the Dutchman is a leading candidate for the managerial job in England.
van der Gijp, who earned 15 caps for Holland, had precious little advice for ten Hag to succeed in Manchester if he takes up the job, saying that he only needed to get rid of three ‘troublemakers‘ in the squad – Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, and Harry Maguire.
“He just needs to get rid of those troublemakers. Ronaldo, Pogba, Maguire.”
Ronaldo was signed only last summer in a bid for the Red Devils to score more goals, and hope that his presence in the team proved enough to take us one step further from our second-place finish last season. Unfortunately, the Portuguese superstar has endured a rough patch in 2022 as his goals have dried up and he looks frustrated with events on the pitch.
Maguire, who is the club skipper, is perhaps the most disappointing player to take to the pitch this season as he has been woeful with his performances and has been guilty of committing schoolboy errors to let in cheap goals at the back. He has failed to lead the team by example, despite wearing the captain’s armband.
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Pogba meanwhile, has been at the club since 2016 to embark on his second spell with the club. However, the academy product has failed to impress so far, only leading us to trophies in his first season back in Manchester, winning the Europa League and League Cup. Incidentally, those are also the last trophies the club has seen in recent times.
van der Gijp seems to have given a straightforward solution for fixing the club’s issues if ten Hag takes over. However, getting rid of three underperforming players cannot possibly be the workaround to turning United into a successful team once again. Given that these are three key stars for the Red Devils, perhaps ten Hag should focus on helping them in getting back to their best – if the Dutchman takes the job, that is.
