Man Utd star makes surprise Ten Hag claim amid Amorim assessment

Matthijs de Ligt says recently sacked Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has “not been very lucky” while giving his thoughts on his successor Ruben Amorim.

Man Utd made the decision to part ways with the Dutchman in late October before the Portuguese was named as his successor within a matter of days.

Despite leading them to Carabao Cup and FA Cup success during his two-and-a-half-year tenure at Old Trafford, Ten Hag was dismissed with the Red Devils languishing down in 14th in the Premier League.

Ahead of Amorim taking his first United game away at Ipswich Town on November 24, summer signing De Ligt has spoken about the two managers.

On Ten Hag, the Dutchman told De Telegraaf: “He brought me to Manchester, the goal was to achieve success together with Erik. He has not been very lucky. We played well in many matches, but we did not use the chances we got. It is a shame that it has to end like this.

The centre-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in August, added that such a sacking can “always be quite hard” and that he and Ten Hag had “discussed some things” since his departure.

On Amorim, he added: “He did well at Sporting, hopefully he can also take us to the next level. Amorim is not my first coach and he will not be my last coach. I did not only move to Manchester United for Ten Hag.

“It is still one of the biggest clubs in the world, I think. I just have to do my own thing and play well myself. I feel really fit now and things are going well. Hopefully I can continue that.”

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What went wrong for Ten Hag

The former Ajax boss was given a reprieve earlier this year after leading United to an FA Cup triumph over rivals Manchester City at Wembley.

That win, alongside their hefty injury list last season, was a mitigating factor in INEOS keeping the 54-year-old in the job and after looking for potential replacements, he signed a contract extension until 2026.

But the fact that they spent around £200m (€240.5m, $254m) on players this summer and they were closer to the relegation than the European qualification spots, meant the club really had no option but to sack Ten Hag.

There was no consistent style of play, very few players improved under his stewardship, and the results were getting worse – if anything.

Now the pressure is on Amorim to deliver instant success at the struggling Premier League giants. He had Sporting Lisbon purring over the past year or so, winning trophies and impressing in Europe, but the task of turning around United’s fortunes will be his biggest task yet.

Amorim wants Barcelona man

Amorim took up his post at United this week but already reports have surfaced that he wants the club to sign certain players.

One is reportedly Barcelona attacker Fermin Lopez, with the ex-Sporting boss said to be urging minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to table a €50m (£41.5m, $52.8m) bid for the 21-year-old. 

TEAMtalk understands that United are considering a January transfer move for Dinamo Zagreb star Martin Baturina.

However, the Croatian team will want to keep onto the 21-year-old midfielder until the end of the season at the very least.

Elsewhere, our sources have confirmed that Aston Villa are interested in a shock move for Red Devils defender Harry Amass.