How Ten Hag plans to revitalise United
Targeting three key signings in summer overhaul analysing squad and hopes to revive Maguire
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Erik ten Hag will attempt to revitalise the flagging career of Harry Maguire despite also planning a huge overhaul of the Manchester United squad this summer.
The incoming manager will target at least three key signings in the forthcoming transfer window, while accepting it is impossible to carry out all of the changes that are needed immediately. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick has talked about “six, seven, eight, maybe 10 new players” being needed, and Ten Hag is believed to agree.
Nevertheless, with so many players out of contract, there is an opportunity to accelerate the remoulding of the underperforming – and discontented – squad, although Ten Hag will also want to find out why a team who finished second in the Premier League last season have suffered such a dramatic collapse.
One view is that United do not have a squad of bad players but a squad who have had a bad time, although there is no question there will be a significant number of departures and signings.
Maguire, who cost up to £85million, is not the only player Ten Hag is studying, with the new manager also analysing Marcus Rashford, who has struggled all campaign. There is a growing sense that the 24-year-old, and the club, might benefit from him being sold.
The struggles of Aaron Wan-bissaka, who cost up to £50million, will also be reviewed by Ten Hag, who has already identified a core of about eight players he feels he can trust and build around.
Maguire is out injured and may not play again this season, but had been dropped by Rangnick. However, Ten Hag wants to know why Maguire appears to be far more comfortable playing for England than for United. Despite signing Raphael Varane, and with question marks over Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly, United may target another left-sided centre-half and move Maguire across.
The list of potential transfers is long, although United’s first priority will be to establish an action plan under Ten Hag. There is a clear sense within the club that given Ten Hag was the first choice of football director John Murtough, the changes need to be driven by the latter.
United played their final home league game against Brentford on Monday, and although the 3-0 win means they could still qualify for the Champions League, that prospect is expected to disappear this weekend. The performance was better than the appalling display in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea last Thursday, although there were further fan protests against the Glazer ownership.
It was symptomatic of the mess at the club that news of Rangnick’s appointment as
Austria’s head coach, formally announced on
Friday, had leaked out before last week’s game.
Although
Rangnick and United said the role did not impact on the two-year consultancy deal he agreed when he took the job last November, there are serious doubts as to whether he will have a meaningful say. Some sources believe Rangnick will fade into the background.
The draw against Chelsea had also underlined United’s reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo, who took his season’s tally to 24 goals against Brentford, and while there is an acceptance that the
37-yearold may not fit into the way United will want to play, Ten Hag is understood to believe the criticism he has faced has been unfair. Within United there is a feeling that Ronaldo, who has another year on his contract, will decide his own future.
It is understood that Rangnick had recommended that United sign another striker in the January window after Mason Greenwood was suspended. However, it was decided to continue without doing so, even though Anthony Martial left on loan to Sevilla. Rangnick believes United need at least two new strikers and Ten Hag is likely to agree.
Even so, a raft of players are certainly leaving, with Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata out of contract and Nemanja Matic having already announced he will not exercise a 12-month extension. There is also little chance of Martial returning.
Given Ten Hag’s track record of developing young players, he will certainly be keen to explore the strength of United’s academy and under-23 squad. Rangnick had included four young players on the bench against Chelsea, with Alejandro Garnacho, 17, making his debut as a late substitute.
With more than £1billion having been spent since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, there is an acceptance that United’s recruitment has failed, and overhauling that process began with the exit of the two most senior scouts, Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout.
During discussions with United, Ten Hag wanted a detailed framework from the club on how all aspects of the football department would work, and while he did not demand full control over recruitment, he wanted assurances that he would have a significant input and the power of veto.
It is typical of Ten Hag’s attention to detail that he is intrigued by the dynamics in the United dressing room and wants to see where the power lies. The hope within the club is that his liking for process and organisation, allied to his coaching ability and success at a club with the creative, attacking instincts of Ajax will be a formula for success.
There is an acceptance that hiring Ten Hag represents a risk and he will quickly have to get up to speed with the scrutiny and demands at United, which are far greater than even at a big club like Ajax. But allied to that is the knowledge that if he is given the right level of support and structure, he has a chance.