Journalist Dean Jones has been speaking on The Done Deal Show about what Erik ten Hag has had to remind the Manchester United board of during the transfer window.
It has been a very interesting and almost comical transfer window from Manchester United given the scattergun approach they appear to have taken to their business this summer, having held an interest or lodged bids for the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Adrien Rabiot, Marko Arnautovic and Jamie Vardy.
Those players all appear to be of different styles in their respective positions, so it remains to be seen who is truly leading the Red Devils’ recruitment drive, but following the arrival of Casemiro for £60m, Jones believes that Ten Hag has had to remind the Man United board what they promised him before he joined the club.
Jones admits that Ten Hag had to remind the board about backing him and trusting his opinion on transfers this summer.
He said: “Ten Hag has reminded the Man United board that they bought into his vision, and as part of that, they have to trust his process and his eye test, if you like.
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“Now, the club’s recruitment policy and the people involved in that are still considered to be really important, but because of the urgent situation they’ve been in in the past couple of weeks, extra trust is falling onto the shoulders of Ten Hag, and he’s perfectly happy to take it.
“He is recommending players that he absolutely knows will 1) give him that work ethic but 2) have the quality on the ball to deliver the style of football that he’s looking for.”
TIF Thoughts on Man United’s transfer approach…
While it will have been frustrating for Ten Hag and Man United fans to have been forced to wait this long for a big signing in the form of Casemiro, if that is what kicks other deals such as Cody Gakpo and Antony into action, it will have been worth the wait.
It seems slightly bizarre that despite only appointing Ten Hag formally as Man United manager a few months ago, the board needed ‘reminding’ by the Dutch boss that they bought into his vision and need to trust him in the transfer market – something that will likely only see the fanbase grow more angered and tired of their ownership.
And with the deadline now fast approaching, fans and pundits alike will soon be able to judge how well United will have performed in this summer’s window and who should take responsibility for it.