Erik ten Hag puts Man Utd transfer plans on hold until No1 target signed | Soccer
New Manchester Untied manager Erik ten Hag risks putting all his transfer eggs in one basket and will not sanction any deals until the club achieve their No 1 target.
The Red Devils have already been linked with over 80 players this summer but Ten Hag has been named as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s permanent successor has a clear vision of the kind of footballer he needs to revitalize United’s fortunes.
Armed with a relatively modest budget of around £120m, Ten Hag is ready to blow a huge chunk of that sum to Frenkie de Jong ahead of the player sale, who he says is essential to the style of football he hopes to implement at Old Trafford is.
That’s what United had hoped Barcelona’s dangerous financial position would make a deal relatively easy but it has proved far from so far.
The Premier League giants are expected to return closer to Barcelona’s asking price of €70m with a second offer this week, but even then the player, who is in touch with his old Ajax boss, would still need to be convinced to make the move to make a change.
Although the deal is still somewhat in limbo, Ten Hag does not want to waste any funds that could be used to secure De Jong’s services, according to the Daily Mail.
Such a strategy could prove risky and contribute to it Missing out on players like Christian Eriksen, who appears set to return to Tottenham despite being offered a deal by United.
Reports earlier this week claimed Ten Hag was frustrated at how long it had taken to get De Jong’s signing over the line.
Angry fans, meanwhile, clashed at a Cheshire pub on Saturday with the under-fire CEO Richard Arnold, who had planned to protest outside his home to alert the Untied boss to the club’s summer plans and De Jong in particular.
“As a club we are doing everything we can to get the deal done,” Arnold was heard saying in footage leaked to Twitter.
“I’ve been trying for days to get it done, the money is there but there are things standing in the way that I can’t say.”
Ten Hag have also identified Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia as a key target but will only make the move for the 22-year-old once De Jong is secured.
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/06/19/erik-ten-hag-puts-man-utd-transfer-plans-on-hold-until-no-1-target-is-signed-16852515/ Erik ten Hag puts Man Utd transfer plans on hold until No1 target signed | Soccer