‘We are still looking for players’ – Desperate Ten Hag begs Man Utd bosses for transfers after just ONE arrival
ERIK TEN HAG desperately needs more players at Manchester United.
He said so here in Bangkok.
The problem is he has only got one deal over the line so far.
The new Red Devils boss addressed the issue in a roasting hot press conference room in Thailand as he prepared for his first game as the club’s new manager.
That takes place against Liverpool on Tuesday in front of a 60,000 sell out crowd.
But he goes into it with a depleted squad with players like Paul Pogba, Nemanaja Matic and Jesse Lingard having left.
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Cristiano Ronaldo wants out and is not here due to family reasons.
Only left-back Tyrell Malacia has joined so far.
Christian Eriksen is expected to arrive a free agent in the coming week.
But main midfield target Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona remains elusive due to a problem over £24million owed in backdated wages that Barca want United to pay.
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They won’t.
Ten Hag’s former club Ajax are meanwhile asking too much for winger Antony, they want £67m and United have offered £51m.
Likewise they want more than the £42.5m United have offered for Lisandro Martinez.
All the time the clock is ticking, United fans are getting nervous and Ten Hag can see a season ahead that will need a strong squad than ever due to it being punctuated by a World Cup.
He said: “In my first press conference I said already we are definitely searching for players in midfield, we also have a need in offence. We are still looking for players.
“It's going to be a long season but a season that is quite unusual due to the World Cup so you need to be prepared for this and need more players than in a normal season.
“We want to add the right players. If the opportunity is there, we will strike.”
Ten Hag still has belief in the players he has and is working hard to get them to adapt to his methods during four games on this tour in Bangkok, Melbourne and Perth.
He said: “We are working on this and you cannot achieve this in one or two weeks, it takes longer.”
Striker Anthony Martial is back with the squad after an unsuccessful loan spell with Sevilla while Ten Hag is working on getting Marcus Rashford back to his best and a possible combination between the two.
He said: “We have worked for two weeks and they are fitting really good together.
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“What I know and see is that they can have an impact on the opponent and can hurt opponents.”
He needs more players, though, if his Manchester United is really going to hurt opponents and the clock is ticking.
