Ten Hag told he’s self-sabotaging with specific Man Utd transfers, as recent arrival branded ‘too wild’

Erik ten Hag has been told he’s heaping unnecessary pressure on himself by way of his transfer dealings at Manchester United, and one recent signing in particular has been taken to task.

Ten Hag has been handsomely backed in the transfer market since his arrival ahead of the summer window in 2022, with the Sun stating over £611m has been spent on new recruits.

Man Utd have won a major trophy in each of Ten Hag’s two full seasons at the helm (League Cup and FA Cup). However, the club also produced their lowest ever Premier League finish last term when finishing eighth.

The Dutch boss was backed once again in the latest window, with Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee all arriving for a combined sum north of £200m.

Three of the new faces are familiar names to Ten Hag. Indeed, the United boss managed Mazraoui and De Ligt at Ajax, while Zirkzee is a fellow Dutchman.

Ten Hag has shown no hesitation when signing players he’s either previously managed at Ajax, are from the Eredivisie, or are Dutch.

But according to Dutch pundit Rafael Van der Vaart – formerly of Tottenham and Real Madrid – Ten Hag is inadvertently piling more pressure on himself by not branching out with his signings.

Speaking to the Sun, Van der Vaart said: “Yes, it’s tough, I think, he’s been there a few years and really spent a lot of money for his own players, which I don’t really like.

“When you as a coach, you bring a lot of Dutch people in or players, I am not the biggest fan of that because when you lose a few times then the pressure is even higher, and the football is also not really getting better.

“I saw them against Liverpool, and that, of course, it’s a tough pill to swallow because it’s like the biggest game – like the North London Derby – and you lose without a chance.

“Now he needs a lot of wins. Then he will survive but we will have to wait and see.”

Van der Vaart takes aim at ‘wild’ De Ligt

£43m signing De Ligt then came in for stinging criticism from the pundit who suggested the centre-back has not developed from the player he was back in Amsterdam.

When asked if De Ligt is the answer to United’s defensive woes, Van der Vaart replied: “A few years ago I would say 100 percent but when he left Ajax, I have to say, I’m a little bit disappointed in his development.

“So I think he is quality. He’s fantastic. He’s a great guy. Works hard for your team, the best, top player but he makes too many mistakes. You also need a little bit of luck, and he is in the phase now that he’s really unlucky. And then he’s a little bit wild.

“He was a little bit too wild [at Ajax]. So that means, going into tackles. And you think, ‘Hey, stay relaxed. Just look how the situation ends’.

“And he went to Italy. Then I found out there he’s going to learn how to defend. But I’m not happy with what I see.”

De Ligt told Netherlands career may be finished

De Ligt recently courted headlines for all the wrong reasons during the international break.

The 25-year-old was given a chance to start alongside captain Virgil van Dijk in both Nations League clashes with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany.

De Ligt declared “it’s just f****d” when running the rule over his below-par display against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He compounded his woes against Germany when an errant pass out from the back directly led to Denis Undav’s equaliser.

De Ligt was hauled off at half time by manager Ronald Koeman who admitted that decision was taken to “protect” the player.

When working as a pundit for Dutch broadcaster NOS, Van der Vaart strongly suggested De Ligt’s international career could and perhaps should have ended as a result of his error-strewn displays.

“This is fatal,” declared the pundit.

Truth behind Ten Hag’s transfer policy

It’s easy to say Ten Hag relies too heavily on players he’s familiar with, but exactly how many of his buys fit into that category?

Since arriving ahead of the 2022 summer window, Ten Hag has been allowed to sign (permanent deals as well as loans) 21 players for the first-team.

A handful of younger starlets have also arrived in that time, such as Harry Amass and Sekou Kone, though they’re largely in the club’s youth ranks and yet to make an impact at senior level.

Of the 21 new players, almost half (10) have some form of connection to Ten Hag.

Players signed directly from Ajax – Lisandro Martinez, Antony

Players signed from elsewhere who previously worked under Ten Hag – Andre Onana, Noussair Mazraoui (both managed at Ajax), Sofyan Amrabat (managed at Utrecht)

Dutch players signed from other Eredivisie clubs  – Tyrell Malacia (Feyenoord)

Dutch players signed from outside of the Netherlands – Matthijs De Ligt (also managed by Ten Hag at Ajax), Wout Weghorst, Joshua Zirkzee

Furthermore, Christian Eriksen trained with Ajax in 2022 during Ten Hag’s time in charge. That came during the midfielder’s return to fitness after suffering cardiac arrest.

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