It was around this time last year that Erik ten Hag summoned Manchester United‘s recruitment team to Amsterdam to start mapping out the first stage of his Old Trafford rebuild.
Less than 24 hours after winning his third Eredivisie title with Ajax, he sat down with assistants Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren and United football director John Murtough at his agency’s offices in the south of the city to talk through targets like Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Antony. Frenkie de Jong was also mentioned, and Cody Gakpo.
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The theme running through the conversation was that while there was money to spend in Ten Hag’s first summer, he wouldn’t be working with an unlimited budget and some areas of the squad would have to be prioritised over others.
In the end, United spent more than they originally planned — in part because Ajax’s valuation of Antony rose throughout the transfer window — but there were items on Ten Hag’s to-do list that went unchecked.
Ten Hag has cemented himself as the most powerful individual at the club after a (relatively) successful first season, which could yet end with a second trophy if United beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final (stream LIVE June 3 on ESPN+ in the U.S.). but the message from the administration about his summer transfer plans will be similar to the one laid at in Amsterdam 12 months ago. There is money for some new players, but probably not as many as Ten Hag actually needs.
Sources have told ESPN that United are working with a budget of between £100 million to £150m which would be supplemented with funds raised by departures. There’s a feeling within the recruitment department that the squad needs to be “tweaked” with two or three new arrivals in key positions although there’s an acceptance that Ten Hag will want more.
It will be Murtough’s job, along with deputy Andy O’Boyle, to find a middle ground between Ten Hag’s demands and the reality of the club’s financial situation, impacted in part by a need to navigate UEFA’s financial fair play rules.
Ten Hag got his way last summer with the pursuit of Antony, but that was only because recruitment staff believed they would face more competition for the Brazilian winger down the line. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis along with director of data science Dominic Jordan and head of recruitment operations Steve Brown and there is no guarantee Ten Hag will get his way with each target.
After a season during which United have struggled to score goals, the priority this summer is to sign a striker. There’s interest in Harry Kane but also a reluctance to get into prolonged negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy over fears he would want to delay any deal until closer to the Sept. 1 transfer deadline. Ten Hag’s aim is to have players signed before the preseason tour of the US kicks off with a flight to New York on July 20 and certainly doesn’t want to leave business until the last minute.
