Erik ten Hag has been appointed as the manager of German club Bayer Leverkusen and it wasn’t long before he was linked to be signing Manchester United stars.
Manchester United parted ways with Erik ten Hag earlier this season after a disappointing start to his third campaign at the helm.
The Dutchman had previously led the team to Carabao Cup glory in his debut season and added an FA Cup triumph shortly before his departure. He was succeeded by Ruben Amorim.
Since his exit from Old Trafford, Ten Hag has remained out of work despite being linked with several managerial opportunities during the season. He opted to wait until the summer before making his return to the dugout.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Ten Hag has been appointed as the new manager of Bayer Leverkusen, succeeding Xabi Alonso, who has taken over at Real Madrid.
Leverkusen won the Bundesliga in the 2023/24 campaign but finished as runners-up to Bayern Munich this time around. Ten Hag now faces a major challenge, with the club expected to lose several key players during the upcoming transfer window.
What Ten Hag said about Leverkusen transfer plans
With star players like Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz expected to depart the German side, Ten Hag will have the opportunity to spend in the transfer window.
He was often criticised at Old Trafford for his preference to sign his former players and that trend could continue at Leverkusen – with Alejandro Garnacho and Antony both already linked with a move.
United are prepared to sell both players this summer but Ten Hag refused to dig deep into his transfer plans in his first interview at his new club.
Asked about his time out of the game and the summer transfer window, Ten Hag stated that he was ‘full of energy’ and that there will be many discussions in the coming weeks.
“I started as a coach straight after my career as a player and have done it non-stop for 22 years. The recent break did me good and gave me time to reflect,” he explained.
“Therefore, I’m now full of energy and I want to settle in as soon as possible. The next days and weeks will obviously involve lots of discussions.”
United have different recruitment strategy under Amorim
It remains to be seen whether the Dutch manager would be afforded the cash to sign Antony at around £35 million or Garnacho at £50 million. Bundesliga clubs don’t usually operate like that.
While he almost seemed to have full power over transfers at Old Trafford, that is not how most clubs operate and Leverkusen will probably be wary about his signings from his time with United.
Fortunately, the Reds are no longer operating in the same way and that is something which gives Amorim confidence that they will be able to recruit well themselves this summer.
“Of course I believe and we are improving in those aspects,” he replied recently when asked about the recruitment. “We are improving in the data that we want.
“We have a rule that it’s not just a manager that chooses – it has to be a connection. There is no player that comes here without my approval but the opposite is the same.
“That is important for not just one manager to control everything. We are putting all these things to improve the recruitment.
“For me, the important thing in the recruitment is to know how we are going to play and that is really clear. You can point the specific players you want for those positions and we are doing that together.”
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