Gravenberch, Hojbjerg, Amrabat - Manchester United's transfer policy under Erik ten Hag is flawed
If you haven't noticed, there's an ongoing joke that suggests Erik ten Hag exclusively signs players he's previously worked with.
From the list of eight players Ten Hag has signed during his Manchester United reign so far, only Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund didn't have history with him.
Malacia and Mount mightn't have worked under Ten Hag before moving to Old Trafford, but they do have Eredivisie pedigree following spells at Feyenoord and Vitesse respectively and that was a factor in why they were signed.
United still exploring midfield targets
Ten Hag was impressed with Malacia during his time managing Ajax and Mount caught his attention when on loan in the Netherlands in 2017/18, when the midfielder was named in the Team of the Season and won Vitesse's Player of the Year award.
Mount made such an impression that Ten Hag attempted to sign him for Ajax after his loan at Vitesse, but a then blossoming talent joined Derby County in the Championship instead to work with Chelsea legend Frank Lampard.
That means Mount's move to United this summer was a transfer five years in the making and there's an obvious trend that Ten Hag prefers to sign players he's worked with or who he's seen first-hand on the pitch.
Christian Eriksen, a product of Ajax's academy, returned where his career started to train when Ten Hag was in charge in January 2022 and Lisandro Martinez, Antony and Andre Onana all played at the Amsterdam Arena during his tenure.
Eriksen and Martinez have been excellent signings and Onana is already an upgrade on David de Gea, but the £86million invested in Antony continues to baffle and that signing looks worse because Ten Hag insisted on pushing the deal through.
It's an obvious risk
Read on manchestereveningnews.co.uk
