Erik ten Hag nearly signed Tottenham Hotspur midfielder in 2020

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Erik ten Hag‘s Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur this week looking for a crucial victory.

United failed to beat Newcastle at Old Trafford at the weekend, adding pressure to get a win in this home fixture ahead of a clash at Chelsea this Saturday.

Ten Hag is well aware of the threat Tottenham possess, and he has a particular admiration for midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

If the manager had it his way, the Dane would have been playing under him for the last season at Ajax.

Ten Hag nearly signed Hojbjerg

Ten Hag has a big admiration for Hojbjerg, having worked with him first hand when he was Bayern Munich’s reserve coach under Pep Guardiola.

The midfielder was part of Bayern’s academy at the time and Ten Hag made a play to try and sign him for Ajax in 2020.

Speaking to Voetbal International in January 2021, Ten Hag revealed how close he came to signing the midfielder.

He said: “I would very much like to have him there. We were really so close to that.

“We spoke to him several times. That boy really made our team stronger. Financially we would have made it, I think. 

“He could also go to other clubs, but wanted to come to Ajax. But then Tottenham came for him and we still got the short straw.”

Tottenham paid just £15 million for Hojbjerg and he has gone onto become a regular in the Tottenham team. This season he has started all 10 Premier League matches.

Manchester United’s midfield will be in for a battle against Spurs, and Ten Hag is well placed to warn United’s players about his qualities.

Ten Hag will be wary of Lucas Moura

Tottenham will be without injured Richarlison for the fixture and there is a question mark over the fitness of Dejan Kulusevski.

One player Tottenham could call on is Lucas Moura, who has come off the bench in the last two Tottenham matches.

Lucas Moura is a player Erik ten Hag won’t want to see. The Brazilian scored an improbable hat-trick for Tottenham to knock his Ajax side out of the Champions League semi-finals in 2020.

He has also haunted United before, a club who once tried to sign him before he chose PSG, and he could see some action on Wednesday night. Ten Hag will ensure his side are ready.