£42m Man Utd transfer baffles pundit amid ‘truth’ on Ten Hag ‘not liking British players’
It’s been suggested that Erik ten Hag “doesn’t like British players” as the Manchester United boss “hasn’t learned anything” from the last two years.
Since taking over at Man Utd ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, Ten Hag has largely focused on signing players he has previously worked with or watched closely from his time in the Eredivisie.
This summer’s transfer window was widely considered positive for the Red Devils as they spent around £185m to sign Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yor, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.
Ugarte was their top target for most of the summer as one of their priorities was to sign a new defensive midfielder to compete with/replace Brazil international Casemiro.
Ugarte started against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon but struggled as Man Utd were deservedly beaten 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Following this result, Ten Hag has emerged as the favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked.
In the summer, Man Utd offloaded several players to raise funds for signings. As part of their overhaul, Scotland international Scott McTominay was sold to Serie A giants Napoli for around £25m plus add-ons.
MORE ON YET ANOTHER MAN UTD DEFEAT
👉 16 Conclusions on Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham: Ten Hag sack, Ugarte nightmare, Kulusevski dazzles
👉 Wasteful Tottenham still left laughing at Manchester United’s humiliation in Old Trafford rout
👉 Ten Hag sack unavoidable but Man Utd players ‘stealing a living’ and Rashford ‘just gave up’
Former Premier League star Paolo Di Canio has hit out at Man Utd for selling McTominay and buying Ugarte as he claims Ten Hag “doesn’t like British players”.
“How can you sell McTominay for €30m to get Ugarte for €50m [around £42m]? Ugarte is used to Lisbon, he played two excellent years at Sporting, but the Premier League is another thing,” Di Canio said.
“Today in Manchester it was 10c, it’s been raining for 10 days, in Lisbon it’s 25c. Last year he was in Paris, he’s a composed player, who plays a lot of positional football.”
READ: Only one Man Utd culprit in Premier League worst XI featuring three Brighton flops
He added: “The truth is that Ten Hag doesn’t like British players, he doesn’t buy any British players.
“Last year he bought Hojlund, this year Zirkzee who has a physicality that goes well in Italy. Tottenham instead bought Solanke who is a good player, nothing transcendental but he’s a good player.
“I’m sorry to see Ten Hag in great difficulty, but he hasn’t learned anything from these two years. When they concede a goal, they don’t react, no one raises their head, no one talks to each other.”
McTominay has had a positive start at Napoli. He got an assist over the weekend as Antonio Conte’s side beat Serie A rivals Monza 2-0.
Conte has lauded McTominay, claiming he “has goals in his blood”.
“Scott is a player who has goals in his blood, he is very good at getting into the game,” Conte said. “He has very good technical qualities, as well as a significant physical build.
“And he makes his presence felt in the air. He has quite a few goals in his DNA.”
