Incoming Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has begun to sound out the direction of the ensuing squad overhaul during the summer transfer window, which has already included question marks over England duo Marcus Rashford and club captain Harry Maguire.
That report comes from The Telegraph’s chief football correspondent Jason Burt and is cited by UtdReport on Twitter, with Burt stating that not only is there a growing sense at United that both the club and Rashford could benefit from a summer sale, but that Ten Hag is questioning how Maguire can perform so well for England but fail to replicate that form at club level in the Premier League.
There is a growing sense that Marcus Rashford and #mufc might actually benefit from him being sold #mulive [@JBurtTelegraph]
— utdreport (@utdreport) May 3, 2022
Once touted as one of the brightest young stars to come out of England football in recent years, Rashford is currently enduring a torrid period at Old Trafford where he is no longer viewed as a vital cog in the wheel at the Theatre of Dreams both in the current set up or moving forward and is often reduced to a substitute’s role.
With questions mounting around the international duo, it is safe to say that both players could have their numbers called in the summer and potentially taken off the books at the club after it was also mentioned that Ten Hag has surveyed the United squad, and decided on a core of eight players that he can use as a nucleus for the rebuild in the northwest of England.
It was mentioned that the incoming Dutch tactician is said to be in line with the thought process of current interim boss Ralf Rangnick that United is in genuine need of “six, seven, eight, maybe 10 new players,” but the situation at hand will not permit for that many new faces to come into the club in just one summer window.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – MARCH 15: Lisandro Martinez of Ajax, Roman Yaremchuk of Benfica during the UEFA Champions League Round Of Sixteen Leg Two match between AFC Ajax Amsterdam and SL Benfica Lisbon at the Johan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam Arena) on March 15, 2022 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by John Berry/Getty Images)
On the back of that Ten Hag is expected to prioritize at least three key signings for United this summer, with one such player potentially being Argentine center-back Lisandro Martínez.
The 24-year-old Argentine international has been a mainstay in the AFC Ajax backline under Ten Hag since the 2019-20 season and given the fact that the Gualeguay-native is left-footed, it would immediately improve the Red Devils’ capability of offering a more balanced center-back pair, with Martínez presumably replacing one of the aforementioned Maguire or Frenchman Raphaël Varane.
United has also been linked with the likes of Villarreal’s Pau Torres, Southampton creator-in-chief James Ward Prowse, Dutch international star Frenkie de Jong, and potential links with RC Strasbourg pair Habib Diallo and Habib Diarra after United scouts were spotted in attendance for the Alsatian outfits 3-3 home draw against Paris Saint-Germain on Friday night.
With the club set for a massive retooling job over the next few transfer windows, Erik ten Hag will automatically come under the microscope in the early doors of his tenure, especially if he fails to hit the ground running .
