Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United plot huge summer rebuild under new manager Erik ten Hag as club steps up their transfer efforts
According to The Telegraph (Subscription Required), Manchester United are preparing for a massive squad rebuild in the summer under new boss Erik ten Hag, who was recently announced as the incoming permanent first-team manager.
The Dutchman is expected to join United in the summer, as he is currently focused on helping his Ajax Amsterdam side win the Eredivisie title, which will make it a hat-trick of trophies for both the club and the manager.
He will succeed Ralf Rangnick in the manager’s hot seat at the end of the season, once the German’s tenure as interim boss expires in the summer. ten Hag is set to become the fifth permanent boss that the English side have appointed since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
The incumbent Ajax man will have a big task on his hands during the summer transfer window, and is said to already have had discussions with United on potential transfer targets in the last few weeks. The Red Devils seem to be aligned with their new manager, as they look to step up their pursuit of new signings.
Two midfielders and a striker
The Manchester side have decided on a priority list of positions to target, which includes two midfielders and a striker, and are also looking at wide forwards and central defenders. However, they have not been largely successful as a team over the past decade despite spending more than £1 billion on transfers, so there is huge pressure on the club to rectify their mistakes this time around.
As a first step, the English giants have already watched players like Darwin Nunez of Benfica and Villarreal’s Arnaut Danjuma as they look to identify players who can fit into ten Hag’s system. The 52-year-old, meanwhile, is eyeing Ajax ace Antony as his ideal signing, believing that the Brazilian is destined for big things.
The summer is expected to usher in a new era at the Theatre of Dreams, as United look to bring back the glory days and once again establish themselves as giants in English football. The past few years have been disappointing, and it must be fixed so that the side does not fall further.
A quick fix is not the answer to the club’s problems, and it may perhaps take a few transfer windows for ten Hag to bring in the kind of players he wants who can adapt to the system he wants to implement in Manchester to replicate his success in Amsterdam with Ajax.
More Manchester United News
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- New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag brings in Steve McClaren and Mitchell van der Gaag as assistant coaches
Despite going big in previous transfer windows, we have not been able to deliver. Our last trophy came in 2017, and the club has failed to make an impact in the Premier League, despite finishing second in the points table last season.
Fans will be excited seeing the number of players that have been linked with moves to Old Trafford, although only time will tell how many of them actually end up moving. One thing is for sure, ten Hag is not sitting around and looking for miracles to happen, and instead prefers a more hands-on approach with regard to recruitment.
