Manchester United to provide incoming new boss Erik ten Hag with transfer war chest even if they miss out on UCL football

According to The Telegraph (Subscription Required), Manchester United are set to provide potential new manager Erik ten Hag with a sizeable transfer war chest even if the side misses out on Champions League football next season.

The English side are said to be close to appointing ten Hag as their next permanent manager, replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the position after the Norwegian was sacked late last year following a string of disappointing results that saw United slip down the Premier League table.

ten Hag is currently in charge of Ajax, with the Amsterdam-based outfit on course to win the Eredivisie title for the third straight time under their head coach’s tenure. They also have an opportunity to complete a domestic double this term, if they beat PSV Eindhoven in the KNVB Cup final in the coming weeks.

It is said that United executives have finalised a shortlist of potential targets that they would like to pursue in the summer, and they plan to formally present these names to ten Hag once his appointment is confirmed.

Squad overhaul at Old Trafford

The main priorities at Old Trafford at the end of the season are a striker and two accomplished, high-energy midfielders. A player who plays in the right-sided forward position is also being scouted, although that is considered a less pressing area to address at this stage.

The Manchester side will make their recommendations to the 52-year-old incoming boss, with names like Harry Kane and Declan Rice thought to be among the most ambitious and costly transfer targets. John McGinn is another player of interest to United.

These three names, however tough they may be to land, sound like good prospects for our team as things stand. McGinn is a talented central midfielder while Rice is a solid shield in front of the centre-backs our team has been in need of for so long. As for Kane, any team in the world would be lucky to have a proven goal-getter such as him.

Evidently, executives at the Theatre of Dreams are preparing for a massive squad overhaul ahead of the new season as they look to usher in a new era, where the new head coach will work his magic to turn the side into world-beaters once again and break our five-year trophy drought.

The new man in will be succeeding Ralf Rangnick, who was appointed by the club on an interim basis until the summer to pick up Solskjaer’s slack and guide the team to a top-four finish so they can play Champions League football next season.

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However, the German sees his team currently sit in seventh place in the league table and in danger of missing out on fourth place by the end of the campaign. However, the Manchester side is determined to provide ten Hag with funds to start reshaping the squad, even if losing out on a UCL spot would cause a substantial hit to their pockets.

With around a dozen players facing uncertain futures beyond the summer and five of those stars out of contract at the end of the season, there lies an opportunity to reinvest money – either raised through the sales of these fringe players or making considerable space on the wage bill of those leaving the Premier League side as free agents.