Erik ten Hag explains why one former Ajax player never lived up to the hype at Man United

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Erik ten Hag believes that one Manchester United player was not the same as he was when the Dutchman coached him at Ajax.

It is no secret that Erik ten Hag has signed a lot of former Ajax players to Manchester United since he joined the club in the summer of 2022.

Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Andre Onana and Christian Eriksen, back in 2012, have been brought into Old Trafford having previously played at Ajax but some of these signings have not worked out with the Brazilian winger Antony struggling at the moment.

One former Ajax player who has certainly struggled is Donny van de Beek and the Dutch midfielder left the club last week to join Eintracht Frankfurt on loan.

Ten Hag on Van de Beek

There were certainly a few eyebrows raised when Ten Hag, who got the best out of Van de Beek during his time in the Netherlands, did not play the 26-year-old really at all during his time at Old Trafford.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of United’s FA Cup third-round clash against Wigan Athletic, Ten Hag was asked why he didn’t play the Dutchman more often, and his answer was telling.

“From the moment I came here at United, he wasn’t the player I had at Ajax because he was injured and so many times he was unavailable,” the Dutchman revealed. “Then he struggled for a long time with recovering from that injury. So I think that is probably the main reason for why he wasn’t playing.”

Van de Beek will join Eintracht until the end of the season and there is a buy option included in the midfielder’s contract which could see him move to Germany for £9.5 million.

Van de Beek’s United struggles

There was palpable excitement when the talented midfielder joined from Ajax for just £35 million but, apart from a goal on his debut, the Dutchman never really proved he was good enough.

As his debut season progressed, there was a clamour from the United faithful to start the midfielder in one of the two deeper roles in the team but that never came to fruition.

Once Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was relieved of his duties, neither Ralf Rangnick or Ten Hag saw something in him and it has really been a disastrous signing all things considered.