Erik ten Hag has been backed in the transfer market again this summer as he looks to continue his Man United rebuild.
There are just a few certainties in life: death, taxes and Manchester United dominating headlines.
The media narrative around the club will never tire because of its stature and since we’re now entering an era in which engagement on Twitter is set to be financially rewarded, it’s no surprise to see provocative tweets.
In the last week, one global account posted a graphic about United’s ‘wօɾɾуing’ pre-season results, which showed defeats against Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund without any context or wins against Leeds, Lyon and Arsenal.
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A more accurate post would have featured the previous pre-season wins or at least explained the club’s youngsters (Under-21s) played against Wrexham in San Diego.
Another well-followed account has also got in on the act by posting a graphic showing Erik ten Hag’s spєɴԀ so far as United manager, but supporters have been quick to flood the replies to claim ‘they’re the only club to have add-ons included’ in the sum.
The two posts have a combined 100,000 likes and thousands of retweets. It simply pays to talk about Manchester United and managing the club consequently comes attached with heightened scrutiny and attention.
Ten Hag managed Go Ahead Eagles, Bayern Munich II, Utrecht and Ajax prior to his arrival at Old Trafford and taking control of the biggest club in England presented a new challenge for a manager who primarily operated in the Eredivisie.
Ten Hag spent four-and-half years with Ajax and he spent around £170m during his entire reign in Amsterdam, so coming to Manchester, where he’d be given a significantly larger budget, was venturing into new territory.
The 53-year-old’s most expensive signing in his time at Ajax was Sebastien Haller for under £20m and he was regularly asked to turn water into wine, but the job description at United is different and the champagne has been out.
United made a splash in the transfer market last summer, spєɴԀing a total of £229m including add-ons to sign five players on permanent Ԁєɑłs, which was the most invested in a single window in the club’s history.
Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Antony, mostly players he knew, were bɾօυɢҺt in and Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund – the latter’s move is yet to be made official – are this summer’s arrivals.
Once Hojlund’s transfer from Atalanta is confirmed, which is likely to be at the weekєɴԀ, there will be eight players at the club who have been signed by Ten Hag for a combined £364.4m (without add-ons).
The eight Ten Hag signings:
Antony – £81.9m (plus £4.3m in add-ons)
Hojlund – £64m (plus £8m in add-ons)
Casemiro – £60m (plus £10m in add-ons)
Mount – £55m (plus £5m in add-ons)
Martinez – £46.8m (plus £8.5m in add-ons)
Onana – £43.8m (plus £3.4m in add-ons
Malacia – £12.9m (plus £1.7m in add-ons)
Eriksen – free transfer
Total:£364.4m (without add-ons)
When including performance-related add-ons, the spєɴԀ in Ten Hag’s tenure exceeds £400m and there’s no denying that he’s been backed, as he’s been given significant funds and been able to sign the players that he wanted.
Although Frenkie de Jong was the one that got away and Harry Kane was the dream signing this summer, Ten Hag has landed most of his main targets and the foundations are there for his rebuild to progress to the ‘next stage’.
The problem is bridging the gap to winning the Premier League is the most difficult step in the process. The external media narrative suggests spєɴԀing £364m should guarantee a title but football is not that straightforward.
Ten Hag has been backed again and improvement on a successful first season is the target, but the club’s Premier League rivals have also strengthened and Manchester City have set a benchmark that demands perfection to beat.
If United can mount a credible title challenge in the league and maintain pressure on City until the business єɴԀ of the season, that will be progress. They finished 14 points behind last season and that deficit should at least be reduced.
United reached the finals of the League Cup and FA Cup last season and they should be competitive in those competitions again, whilst a better showing in Europe, perhaps the quarter-finals of the Champions League, is expected.
Anyone in the media demanding that United must win the Premier League this term is missing the point.
It will be just Ten Hag’s second year and completing the most difficult step will ultimately take more time.
