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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Kieran King

Man Utd's view on squad quality casts doubt on Erik ten Hag transfer overhaul

The summer transfer window could prove to be a hectic one for Manchester United with Erik Ten Hag set rebuild his squad ahead of the 2022/23 season.

The Red Devils finished the last campaign in disappointing fashion, winning just three of their final nine matches to end up with their lowest-ever Premier League points tally (58). They missed out on Champions League football in the process and were left in sixth place after their 1-0 final day defeat at Crystal Palace.

This means Europa League football awaits United next season and Ten Hag has a massive task on his hands to steady the ship and take the club back towards the top of the division. The Red Devils have been linked with a number of players and the former Ajax boss is keen to bolster his ranks as soon as possible.

However, National News understand United might not be as busy as first expected in the summer window with Ten Hag ready to place faith in some of their current players. There has been reports suggesting the Red Devils want at least 10 new recruits, but now it is understood United believe there is still a lot of quality in the squad with potential to perform better than last season.

The Red Devils finished second in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's final full season in charge but dramatically dropped off last term, finishing 16 points worse off than in the 2020/21 campaign. The majority of the squad is still at the club from that season with Raphael Varane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho all arriving last summer.

Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Nemanja Matic will not be at United next season, however, with all five out of contract this summer. United also feel that their squad has been too big in recent years and they are comfortable with those players leaving without direct replacements.

Erik ten Hag (Getty Images)

How many players should Manchester United sign this summer? Let us know in the comments below!

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Anthony Martial and Dean Henderson have also been linked with moves away from Old Trafford after struggling for form at the club. All three were frozen out by Ralf Rangnick with Martial spending the second-half of the season at Sevilla, while Wan-Bissaka and Henderson made just a handful of appearances under the now-Austrian manager.

This would leave room for multiple additions, however, the Red Devils want to trim the squad and ensure Ten Hag has quality, not just quantity to work with. Frenkie De Jong is amongst those linked with a move to United with Barcelona willing to sell the midfielder for £70million this summer. United will need to convince the Dutchman to move to Old Trafford given they are not in the Champions League next season.

United's view on not adding too many players casts doubts on those reports that Ten Hag wants a complete overhaul of his squad. Darwin Nunez and Jurrien Timber have also both been tipped to make the switch to the Red Devils this summer.

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