Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United keeping an eye out for free agents in the summer as new manager Erik ten Hag given limited budget
According to The Sun, Manchester United have instructed their agents to keep their eyes peeled for the best available free agents in the upcoming summer transfer window as incoming new manager Erik ten Hag is set to be given a limited budget.
ten Hag is currently in charge of Ajax Amsterdam, but he will depart the Dutch club at the end of the season to begin his new job in Manchester, as the English side’s new permanent manager. He will succeed Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford, who has been appointed until the summer as the interim boss.
The Dutchman has been hugely successful in his native country with Ajax, winning multiple trophies and building young and dynamic teams that play an attractive brand of attacking football. This term as well, he is on course to lead the Amsterdam side to a hat-trick of Eredivisie titles.
He is expected to replicate the same success in the Premier League, turning around the fortunes of the Red Devils as they look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign. The 52-year-old is expected to usher in a new era at the club, starting with a massive squad overhaul.
Best bargains on the market
Previously, Rangnick had claimed that United need at least ten new players to build a more competitive team that is capable of aiming for silverware. However, ten Hag will only be given a transfer kitty of around £100m, which may fall short of getting the kind of players he needs to transform the side.
Given this, the club hierarchy has instructed their agents to scour the transfer market for the best bargains available, with a number of players expected to become free agents in the summer. Stars such as Paulo Dybala, Franck Kessie, and Ousmane Dembele could be available without having to spend a single penny on them, although it remains to be seen if ten Hag is keen on these players.
After enduring a dismal season where the club have failed to win any trophies or qualify for the Champions League next term, ten Hag’s arrival is expected to bring in a new dawn at the Theatre of Dreams. This summer marks five years since the Manchester side last won a trophy.
The way forward for the Red Devils is to build a new-look team with players that the new head coach can utilise and play to his strengths, rather than sign the biggest names on the transfer market – something that has not quite worked out in the past with stars such as Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.
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The English giant’s inability to play UCL football next term and the COVID effect of having to play games behind closed doors would naturally bite into their kitty that would have otherwise been spent on players in the summer. However, they seem to have figured out a way around this issue by targeting free agents at the end of the season.
This would naturally mean that United will need to dig deep and prepare to battle several other clubs in order to sign some of the world’s best talent for free, and convince them to pick the PL side over others. Hopefully, the presence of ten Hag and his vision for the club is enough to make this happen.
