Manchester United could be in for a busy summer transfer window ahead of the new season, with a squad overhaul expected along with the potential arrival of Erik ten Hag.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News, Ajax expect manager Ten Hag to join United at the end of the season, with the club looking to appoint a new manager before the end of the current campaign. The Dutch manager is United 's preferred candidate to take over from Ralf Rangnick at the end of his tenure, with the 52-year-old having been interviewed already.
Following a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Everton, United's top four hopes are quickly fading away, with many players criticised for their poor performances. In the summer, a handful of players are likely to leave at the end of their contracts including Paul Pogba, and if Ten Hag was to join in the summer, he's expected to bring in a few players to suit his system.
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So, if Ten Hag was to become the new United boss, which players could he target? And how will the United squad look following the summer transfer window? To find out, we simulated the upcoming summer transfer window to see which players Ten Hag could sign this summer.
The players Erik ten Hag could sign for United this summer simulated
We used Football Manager 2022 to run the simulation, appointing Ten Hag as the Manchester United manager whilst also putting him in charge of all incoming and outgoing transfers, including contract negotiations and more. This is what happened.
Transfers in: £152 million
- Vitinha (Porto) - £44.5m
- Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) - £37m
- Luis Muriel (Atalanta) - £24.5m
- Carlos Soler (Valencia) - £21.5m (potentially rising to £26m)
- Duvan Zapata (Atalanta) - £20m(potentially rising to £24m)
- Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino) -£4.4m
- Alex Palmer (West Bromwich Albion) - £12.75k (potentially rising to £15k)
United spent over £150m in their summer transfer window with Ten Hag in charge, bringing in seven new players. It was clear which areas of the pitch Ten Hag was looking to improve, with three central midfielders, two strikers, one centre back and one goalkeeper all arriving.
The most expensive signing was Vitinha for £44.5m from Porto, with the 22-year-old able to play as a defensive or box-to-box midfielder. Along with Vitinha, Leicester City's Ndidi joined for £37m, giving United a whole new midfield to choose from.
Soler was the final midfielder who joined, with the 25-year-old signing for £21.5m from Valencia. Atalanta's striker partnership of Zapata and Muriel both joined for a combined fee of £44.5m to add more depth to the United attack, with Zapata very suited to the striker profile which appeals to Ten Hag.
Young Italian defender Buongiorno joined from Torino for £4.4m, whilst young goalkeeper Palmer signed for United from West Brom for just £12.75k. So, after a summer of new signings, who was let go from the United squad?
Transfers out (selected): £34 million
- Anthony Martial (Inter Milan) - £23m
- Andreas Pereira (Benfica) - £6.5m
- Axel Tuanzebe (Sporting de Gijon) - £2.6m
- Tom Heaton (West Ham United) - £1.1m
- Phil Jones (Cagliari) - £925k (potentially rising to £1.1m)
- Tahith Chong (Fortuna Sittard) - Free transfer
- Reece Devine (Bolton) - Free transfer
- Facundo Pellistri (Nottingham Forest) - Loan
- Shola Shoretire (Hull) - Loan
United made a total of £34m in player sales in the 2022/23 simulated transfer window, with the majority of that coming from one player sale. Martial departed United after his loan spell at Sevilla, but the Frenchman joined Inter Milan instead for £23m.
As well as Martial, Ten Hag used the transfer window to get rid of players who rarely featured, with Pereira, Tuanzebe, Heaton and Jones all departing for small fees. Chong was allowed to leave on a free transfer, whilst young talents Pellistri and Shoretire departed on loan for the season.
Following the closure of the 2022 summer transfer window, this is the starting XI that Ten Hag selected: (4-2-3-1) De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Vitinha, Ndidi; Soler, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo.
Summer signings Vitinha, Ndidi and Soler all started the first game after the summer transfer window, with the latter starting as a right midfielder rather than through the centre. Zapata and Muriel both made the bench, with only the former making his way onto the pitch in the 2-1 win.
Where do you think United could finish with this team next season? And would you be happy with a window like this in the summer?
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