“A far better investment…” – Erik ten Hag told he made two Manchester United transfer mistakes

Erik ten Hag has been told by former Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe that he made two mistakes in the club’s last transfer window.

Manchester United‘s summer window saw the club make seven signings either on loan or a permanent basis, with transfer deadline day bringing in four of those players.

Two players who signed earlier in the window were Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Inter Milan’s Andrè Onana, who were signed for a combined fee of just over £100 million.

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Both signings came at the request of Erik ten Hag, who is attempting to rebuild the club from the turbulent last 10 years that has seen Old Trafford lose a significant amount of stature since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

Despite it being early in their respective United careers, ex-Red Lee Sharpe believes that Ten Hag made a mistake in signing the two players, and explains there were better options available.

“I think if we all had the gift of hindsight then we all would have said Maddison would have been a better signing,” Sharpe said to AGamble on Mount.

“When you are buying a lad from Chelsea, or you can buy a lad from Leicester, the question is can they perform at a club like Manchester United, and Mount coming from Chelsea you’d guess might be able to deal with the pressure and the club a little bit better than Maddison on the face of it.

“But certainly, the way the two have started this season, Maddison looks a far better investment than Mount does at the moment. But we’ll see where Tottenham end up and how Mount gets on for the rest of the season, and judge it at the end of the season.”

Andrè Onana’s replacement of David de Gea has been a hot topic so far this campaign, with the goalkeeper not having the best of starts at the club – he has conceded 18 goals in 10 fixtures, although part of this is attributed to the injury crisis in defence.

“I think you would have to say De Gea would be starting ahead of Onana from what we’ve seen,” explained Sharpe.

“He’s made big errors in big games, and it’s not just one or two, he’s made three or four. I was actually at the Wolves game and he was lucky not to give a penalty away in that game. He’s made big mistakes in several games, and it’s not just a one-off.

“He’s struggling for consistency whether that’s because of the size of the club, the goalkeeper’s confidence or the back four not protecting him enough – I’m sure it’s probably a little bit of all three, but it’s certainly a concern. Especially after you’ve just gotten rid of David De Gea.

“I know De Gea took a lot of criticism for some of the mistakes that he was making but he was also, up until last year, the players’ Players of the Year and the supporters’ Player of the Year for three years in a row, so he was an incredible goalkeeper. I think the way they brought Onana in and ushered him out of the door was a little bit amateur as well.”