Erik ten Hag mentions goalkeeper Manchester United could not sign last summer

Erik ten Hag, like previous Manchester United managers, has suffered from not having a recruitment team fit for purpose.

It’s fair to say that most of the managers United have appointed since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 have revealed shocking stories of missed transfer targets over the years. Ten Hag is no different, but now it is up to INEOS to rebuild the structure around the club.

Gary Neville has done an exclusive interview with Ten Hag about his second season at Old Trafford. It was a disappointment, but there is still an FA Cup final to be played at Wembley.

The former right-back asked the boss a series of questions, including one about missing out on transfer targets such as Frenkie de Jong and Harry Kane.

Ten Hag confirmed that he tried in vain to sign Kane from Tottenham last summer. He claims United’s inability to attract top targets will delay their title ambitions. That’s not rocket science, but it doesn’t help that the structure at United has been flawed for years.

United decided to go for Rasmus Hojlund when they realized Kane was not a possibility. The 21-year-old signed for £72 million from Atalanta and was a positive work in progress in his debut season, showing both promise and an eye for goal.

With United’s recruitment team being questioned for years, a lot of money is being spent on bad signings. The club has spent more than 400 million euros on players since the arrival of Ten Hag from Ajax. Now spending must be done more wisely, with rules for sustainability and profitability.

“This club can only have excellent players because the expectations are so high” he told Sky Sports. “Everyone has an opinion about Manchester United and they can only be excellent players.

“Every match of ours has an expectation, so you can only live up to that expectation if you have excellent players. But over the last ten years and during this period we couldn’t always get the players we wanted.

“But then you have to build and accept that you are bringing in talent instead of players who have already proven it in the past. We have had a number of choices made with talents such as Rasmus Hojlund.

“I see a striker who has already proven it, who we want to sign and who we couldn’t get. And then we went to Rasmus, because he is a talent.”

Neville then asked Ten Hag if he was referring to Kane. The manager said: “Yes, and you know Harry Kane will give you thirty goals. I think Rasmus will get there, but he needs time. It’s not fair to rate him the same as Harry Kane. I would never compare two players because they are very different.

“But with Hojlund I think we had the greatest potential at the striker position last summer and we are very happy with him. But he also needs time to adapt and we are very happy that he has shown his qualities by scoring goals.

“He had a very good period where he scored a lot of games after showing that, but before and after that he had some physical problems, which is normal for a young player coming up. But it has a negative impact on the team result and you have to accept that.

“Then you go back to the fans and the opinion makers, and they don’t understand this or don’t want to understand it. It’s how Man United are judged, they only see the result, but we need time.

“You have to accept that the process is slower and you cannot expect to immediately be able to compete for titles in the Champions League and Premier League.”

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