Erik ten Hag let down by “token gesture” to secure Declan Rice – The Athletic | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag has missed out on key signings for his style of play due to the club’s reported lack of intent when pursuing targets.

With the news of Erik ten Hag remaining as manager at Old Trafford, there have also been reports that INEOS are keen to drastically reduce his influence on recruitment.

Ten Hag has been backed heavily, spending around £407m on new signings, including huge fees for Antony and Casemiro in his first summer window.

However, he has also missed out on some key transfers and spoke publicly in an interview with Gary Neville on Sky Sports that his first-choice striker was Harry Kane, but the club were unable to get a deal done.

The Athletic have highlighted the club’s failure to secure key midfield targets Frenkie de Jong and Declan Rice in successive summers.

United’s very public pursuit of De Jong failed to bear fruit, despite the club agreeing a fee with Barcelona.

“He (Ten Hag) still speaks to people about the evolution that would have been possible with Frenkie de Jong on board, believing there was a chance early on in his first summer to strike a deal with Barcelona and convince the player to join.”

The transfer fell apart due to De Jong’s lack of desire to leave Barcelona but the failed pursuit of Rice is more damning.

The England international enjoyed a very successful first season after moving to Arsenal last summer and he had been a target for United since the days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The American outlet states, “As an alternative option (to De Jong), Ten Hag liked Declan Rice, who was very interested in joining, but Casemiro was seen as more attainable by the club. Last summer, Ten Hag pushed again for Rice, judging his blend of physicality, quality and mentality to be the right mix to elevate United’s foundation. Again, several players agreed with their manager, but United were way behind Arsenal and even Manchester City in the pursuit.”

“United eventually made contact with West Ham, but it came across as a token gesture, which was dismissed. Instead, the club pressed ahead with signing Mount.”

The confusing transfer plan of recent years was in full effect as not only are Casemiro and De Jong very different profiles but Mount and Rice are also incredibly contrasting types of midfielders.

INEOS will be aiming to put together a much more coherent structure so that the manager will not miss out on as many targets or at least obtain backup options that share similar characteristics to the first choice options.