Erik ten Hag leaves Manchester United with a very bleak transfer record during his time as manager.
Manchester United decided to sack Erik ten Hag on Monday morning after the club’s terrible start in the Premier League and Europa League.
Erik ten Hag leaves Old Trafford after just over two years with two trophies to his name, but there was simply a lack of progress being made despite being backed by United’s new leadership team.
There were two major criticisms of Ten Hag during his tenure as United manager. Firstly, he failed to implement a clear style of play or identity at the club. The second is that Ten Hag’s record in the transfer window makes for tough reading.
Ineos chose to back Ten Hag this summer with five major signings who arrived for just shy of £200m. It took the overall spend during Ten Hag’s spell to close to £600m.
It is hard to argue that even a handful of Ten Hag’s transfer deals have turned out to be successes.
Gary Neville slams Antony and Casemiro deals
One recurring theme throughout every transfer window under Ten Hag is that he was keen to be reunited with players he had previously worked with.
Ten Hag signed five former Ajax players during his time at United, and while the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana have stepped up and impressed, the £85m deal for Antony stands out as a complete and utter failure.
He has been so poor that Antony has been told he can leave in January, immediately after Ten Hag’s sacking.
United legend Gary Neville spoke about Ten Hag’s sacking this week and claimed that Antony deal as well as the £60m deal for Casemiro are two of the worst transfers in the club’s history.
Speaking on the Overlap US, Neville said [19 minutes onwards]: “His [Ten Hag’s] legacy is definitely, I think, winning two trophies in two seasons through a very difficult point where the club were going through massive transitions in ownership, sporting departments.
“The recruitment, to be fair, had been appalling for 10 years, and he’s been a victim of that himself.
“I think he oversaw what will be regarded as a couple of the worst transfers Manchester United will have ever have made, and that will be the signings of Casemiro and Antony for the £140, £150million in that panic after the Brentford and Brighton losses.
“I think those two signings Manchester United will pay for .
“I hope I’m wrong, I hope that Casemiro can do a great job for the club for four or five years, I hope that Antony can come good.
“It’s those two signings that stand out.”
Ineos must improve Man United’s recruitment
As pointed out by Neville, United’s recruitment has been atrocious ever since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Red Devils have spent over £1.5bn on transfers in the past decade, and almost have nothing to show for it.
There was a noticeable change in transfer strategy this summer under the new ownership with Ineos targeting young, upcoming talents which could grow in value.
But Ten Hag clearly made his stamp on what was still a very Dutch-centric window for United. It is far too early to judge the five new signings who came in this summer, but Ineos will likely want more and more control over recruitment in future windows as they try to get United back on track.
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