When Manchester United opted to hire Erik ten Hag, there was an acceptance the squad would need a major overhaul.
Fresh off the back of their worst-ever Premier League campaign, the Red Devils approached Ten Hag thanks to his reputation of building young squads, capable of playing progressive, exciting football. But the squad in which he inherited was a fractured one, having failed another two managers in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
But his first window got off to an extremely frustrating start. Clearly not entirely content with the club’s recruitment process, Ten Hag targeted players he had substantial prior knowledge of. Former Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong was his top target, but after months of wrangling, briefings from both sides and contract threats, he looks set to stay at Barcelona.
