Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, is still revamping his team and has already started thinking about the summer transfer market as he tries to add a number of new players.
Although the January transfer window has just closed, Manchester United is already preparing for the summer.
Boss Erik ten Hag plans to conduct a firesale of key players as part of his makeover of the Red Devils’ roster. The Dutchman plans to make many sizable sales to pay for the end-of-season addition of a group of fresh players.
The news comes as it was also reported that star defender Raphael Varane faced criticism for his choice to leave international football and that the Glazers would be left with a £500 million debt if they sold the club. Mirror Football compiles the most recent United news here.
Ten Hag gets ready for the fire sale.
Manager Erik ten Hag is getting ready to hold a firesale in the summer as part of his ongoing reshuffling of the Manchester United team. Scott McTominay, Anthony Martial, and Harry Maguire will all be added to the transfer list.
Ten Hag plans to upgrade his choices by selling at least six players to raise money for a summer spending spree.
The trio will soon be joined by Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, and Eric Bailly in making their way out of the building.
By reassigning those six for good, the United manager expects to raise a sizable sum of money. Then, in order to further impose his own goals on the team, he aims to utilize that money to sign a striker, center-back, and midfielder.
And the ruthless Dutch manager Ten Hag is prepared to do rid of the trio in order to make room for significant new additions as he moves forward with his plans to make United a force once more.
The first teamers Alex Telles and Eric Bailly, who are now on loan, as well as the underwhelming midfielder Donny van de Beek will join them as Ten Hag follows through with his intention to reshape the Old Trafford side and bring in his own talents.
And that will mean the end for England’s Maguire, the club’s captain, who turns 30 next month. He joined in 2019 for a transfer record fee of £80 million from Leicester.
Maguire’s role has been diminished to that of a supporting actor because World Cup champions Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez Ten Hag have been selected as the first choice center defenders.
With Maguire acknowledging he must move on in order to protect his international career, United believes the moment is appropriate to let him go.
The club would look to off-load French forward Martial in the summer, especially if they decide Mason Greenwood can be reintegrated into their team, because Martial hasn’t persuaded Ten Hag that he’s the striker to lead United’s assault.
Due to McTominay’s frequent substitutions and the additions of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, the midfielder has suffered the most.
The 26-year-old academy graduate is frustrated by this, but if Declan Rice leaves Manchester United this summer, there will be plenty of suitors given West Ham’s interest in the United star.
Given that Ten Hag plans to take a tough stance with some players this summer, Everton, Fulham, and Aston Villa could be other options for McTominay.
What are Erik ten Hag’s midfield options without Casemiro and Christian Eriksen?
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, the two members of the pivotal midfield unit that has been at the center of Manchester United’s comeback this season, won’t be available to manager Erik ten Hag for the next three games.
Last week, Eriksen’s major ankle injury—the result of a brutal tackle by Reading’s Andy Carroll—was given a late April or early May recovery timetable.
By getting dismissed today against Crystal Palace for grasping Will Hughes by the neck during a group scuffle, Casemiro put insult to injury.
He will miss three games due to his violent behavior.
Any ambitions the manager may have had for gradually integrating loan signing Marcel Sabitzer into the United team will be foiled by the Brazilian’s forced absence.
Carl Anka of The Athletic stated before the Palace game that “United must navigate a compressed set of February matchups” while Sabitzer is still learning.
Although (Casemiro-Fred) is a partnership with a long history in the Brazil national team, it favors consistency over originality and made United [against Reading] look flat for the majority of the first half.
Although Fred has improved this year when coming off the bench as a replacement, his skills are best utilized in restricting the amount of space the opposition can have in the middle of the field.
Mark Critchley, Anka’s coworker at The Athletic, agrees that Casemiro has been a valuable forward player as well.
When you consider the additional and mostly unanticipated benefit United is receiving for its money, [he] is even better value.
“Casemiro was not brought to Old Trafford to defeat a Championship team in the fourth round with two goals. But after scoring twice in the Premier League against Chelsea and Bournemouth, he scored his third and fourth goals of the campaign against Reading last weekend.
A player who has helped stabilize things at one end of the pitch is starting to contribute at the other, too. Add the four assists Casemiro has recorded since the post-World Cup restart, bringing his total to five since joining.
Only three players have more goals than Casemiro this season, and he needs three more to pass them. This is despite the fact that United is heavily reliant on Marcus Rashford for scoring.
So how can United maintain their current pace without both of their midfield engine’s pistons?
Aside from promotions from the academy, there are now only Fred and Sabitzer as possibilities for midfield. But there are alternative options if that collaboration doesn’t work.
Depending on the severity of his injuries, Scott McTominay could be rushed back due to the emergency and is likely out for two weeks.
Lisandro Martinez, who made 22 appearances for Ten Hag as a holding midfielder at Ajax, is an additional player who might be selected for the midfield. Luke Shaw, who succeeded in that position during his post-World Cup absence, might take his spot in defense, with Tyrell Malacia replacing him at left back.
Also an accomplished central midfielder, Bruno Fernandes might be positioned farther back. Jadon Sancho, who played in that position for 25 minutes against Reading earlier in the week, is a potential replacement for him to play at number 10.
One factor that could work in Casemiro’s favor is that two of the three games he will miss are against Leeds United, which will give the manager more time to develop a system that can be used reliably without him.
Ten Hag has excellent options at his disposal to lessen the effects of the absence of the two whatever he chooses to do.