There is good news for Manchester United. In Erik ten Hag it has a manager with a clear vision, one who has the personality and single-mindedness to impose it. There are always stories from every club, particularly under new management, about how tough preseason training has been, about how the players are fitter than ever, but on this occasion it seems there may be some substance to it. There was a notable 4–0 win over Liverpool in the first friendly, even if results have tailed away somewhat since. Those are reasons for optimism.
But there is also a lot of bad news, most of it to do with the aspects of running the club that have nothing to do with the manager. United has pursued Frenkie de Jong, a former star under ten Hag at Ajax, all summer and, despite Barcelona’s desire to sell, seems no nearer to signing him now than it did in May. Indeed, he has explained clearly that his reluctance to move isn’t just to do with collecting the money Barcelona owes him, but also because he has no desire to go to Manchester or a club as “erratic” as Manchester United, in terms of its operations.
That means that with a month of the transfer window remaining, United remains short of a commanding central midfielder. It hasn’t brought in a right back either, while center forward remains a problem not least because Cristiano Ronaldo is still at the club despite spending most of the summer trying to leave. With very few clubs seemingly interested in signing him, repeated talks have failed to resolve the issue, and over the weekend, having tweeted, “Sunday, the King plays,” he was subbed off at halftime and left Old Trafford before the end of United’s friendly draw against Rayo Vallecano.
