Erik Ten Hag’s transfer strategy has left Manchester United chasing midfielders in the wake of the club’s 4-0 loss to Brentford. According to Jason Burt, the club cannot wait as long as deadline day, with a tough August schedule awaiting them.
Brentford Defeat Leaves Manchester United Chasing Midfielders
🔴Furious Erik ten Hag has angrily laid down the law to Manchester United's under-performing players, with extra training and punishing running.
Join @JBurtTelegraph in the comments ⬇️ now as he discusses a dire weekend for #mufc #TelegraphFootball https://t.co/itMAao2wnK
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) August 15, 2022
Who Is the Most Likely Purchase?
The Red Devils are currently pursuing Adrien Rabiot as their primary target. The French midfielder is a significant part of the transfer strategy at Old Trafford, and there is an agreement in place for a transfer fee of almost £15 million agreed between the two clubs.
However, agreements with the player himself are less simple. Rabiot’s agent, his mother Veronique, is demanding that he receives the same salary as he is receiving at Juventus. Il Bianconeri pays the player £6 million per year, and whilst this sum isn’t impossible for the Carrington outfit, it doesn’t serve to break the culture of incredibly high wages at the club.
Who Else Is the Club Considering?
Manchester United has long had a firm interest in signing Frenkie De Jong from Barcelona, as the Netherlands international previously played under new United manager, Erik ten Hag, when the pair were at Ajax. Building an agreement between the two clubs should be a relatively simple process. After all, Barcelona need money to register their final signing, Jules Kounde. The French centre-back missed out on the initial round of registrations, despite the Catalan club managing to register four of their new signings. Erik Ten Hag sees an excellent opportunity to bring a midfielder he has experience of working with back under his wing at a (relatively) affordable price point.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is another key player that the Red Devils have an interest in. Queries from Old Trafford into the Serie A superstar date back to 2020, and the hierarchy at the club believe that the 27-year-old is an ideal signing in the event that the club misses out on De Jong. Receiving Lazio’s Player of the Year Award at the end of the 202/21 campaign only served to thrust the Serbian further into the limelight, making him a major target.
What Do Manchester United Need?
The Old Trafford side have struggled to build out a well rounded squad in recent years despite being one of the most recognisable brands in world football. Defensive midfielder has been a position of need for the team for a number of seasons now and it’s one that the powers that be have failed to address. Midfield duo Fred and Scott McTominay are excellent servants to the club, but have both been exposed at times leading to disappointing results for the Red Devils.
Erik Ten Hag will also be looking for business to be concluded as quickly as possible. While the 2022/23 season is still in it’s infancy, United will want to fix their course if they expect to challenge for a Champions League place. Completing business as quickly as possible would allow any new signings to integrate into the squad better, and better integration could mean better results on the pitch, which is what United will be looking for following the defeat to Brentford.
Manchester United are 2-0 down to Brentford after 18 minutes 🙄 pic.twitter.com/D4C93dcNGH
— LiveScore (@livescore) August 13, 2022
