Blow to United as Erik ten Hag’s four midfield targets ALL decline Man Utd move before he even starts
Erik ten Hag is facing a midfield breakdown as he attempts to bolster his new Manchester United side.
Ten Hag has set a number of summer goals as he prepares to begin his big restoration project at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman will take over in June, succeeding interim boss Ralf Rangnick, and is eager to get started in terms of recruiting new players.
Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, and Juan Mata have all confirmed their departures from Manchester United, while Paul Pogba is also on his way out and wants to return to Juventus.
However, as first reported by the Daily Star, Ten Hag’s attempts to bring in reinforcements have been thrown into disarray, with three of his targets all turning down the possibility of moving to the fallen giants this summer.
Ten Hag has put Jude Bellingham, Kalvin Phillips, and Declan Rice on his wanted list, but it appears that he will miss out on all of them.
Borussia Dortmund has warned Manchester United to forget about attracting England ace Bellingham to Old Trafford because the German club is unwilling to sell him following Erling Haaland’s transfer to Manchester City this summer.
Meanwhile, due to the hate that prevails between the two teams, Leeds star Phillips has no intention of joining his bitter rivals United.
To make matters worse, Rice has indicated that he will stay at West Ham next season and has no desire to join United while the club is out of the Champions League.
Ten Hag admires Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but the Italian club has informed United that he is not for sale.
Ten Hag is back to square one in his attempts to assemble new midfield talent, as he realises the cost of United’s inability to qualify for the Champions League.
Former Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek, who is now on loan at Everton, is one player who could be set to play under Ten Hag.
Van de Beek’s opportunities were limited under previous United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and interim successor Rangnick, but ex-United defender Jaap Stam believes he will be welcomed back this summer.
“I think Donny is a good player,” Stam told United’s website. “We’ve seen him in Holland and when he was at United he didn’t always get the opportunity to play. I don’t know why, because of certain reasons, it’s difficult to say from the outside that this is it, but from what I understand, and what I know, for a player to produce and do well, he needs to have other players around him who can produce and bring him to a certain level, because then it’s easier to step up for yourself as well.
“If you’re making choices with the players who are already there and who to keep within the club and also who to bring in: is that the perfect fit with how you want to play on the left, on the right, in the middle, up front? To have that ideal partnership, basically, to do well and get results.
“It could be possible that when Donny comes back in, he’s going to perform next season, but it’s very important for him as to who he’s going to play with in midfield, for instance, if he’s going to be playing there. That’s for him, but it’s also for 10 or 15 other players maybe the same situation.”
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Blow to United as Erik ten Hag’s four midfield targets ALL decline Man Utd move before he even starts
