Ajax mock new United signings as Ten Hag gets the band back together
Ajax appeared to poke fun at Manchester United after Erik ten Hag signed a fifth player he worked with at the Dutch club.
United completed a €70m deal for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich, with the pair previously working with Ten Hag at Johan Cruyff Arena, where they helped the club reach the Champions League semi-final in 2019.
Ten Hag has also signed Antony, Andre Onana and Lisandro Martinez after working with them at Ajax, while Christian Eriksen played for the Amsterdam club earlier in his career.
“Manchester is red,” posted Ajax on their official account with X, accompanied with a winking emoji. With red also the main colour of Ajax, the Dutch club have now a strong presence at Old Trafford with their former manager and players in place.
Ten Hag took charge in 2022 and made Antony a priority signing, although the €100m arrival has been a disappointment in the Premier League. Martinez has proved to be a good signing but suffered injury problems last season, while Onana has not been consistent.
United have appointed a new CEO in Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth has started, although the two signings from Bayern are clearly Ten Hag signings having worked with them before. Their other signings have been Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee and young French defender Leny Yoro.
From the team defeated by Spurs in the 2019 Champions League semi-final, Frenkie de Jong was also targeted by Ten Hag and Donny van de Beek had already moved to United but failed to make an impact.
The two latest signings were made before a crucial deadline, meaning they are available for tomorrow night’s Premier League opener against Fulham and, despite having limited time to train with the squad, will probably feature in some capacity.
Zirkzee, United’s other signing of the window and the potential solution to their goalscoring issue, was eased into the squad and played no part in their Community Shield loss to Manchester City, but De Ligt and Mazraoui may be thrown in at the deep end against Fulham.
Yoro is out for three months after injuring his foot in pre-season with left-backs Shaw and Malacia also on the sidelines. Victor Lindelof has a minor knock and has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford, meaning Ten Hag had to start Harry Maguire and 36-year-old Jonny Evans as the two central defenders against City.
Should the manager look to ease his new signings into life at Old Trafford, he will likely start the match against Fulham with a back four of Diogo Dalot, Maguire, Evans and Martinez (playing out of position at left-back).
However, a likely scenario is that the defensive reinforcements slot right into the team, in which case the defence would have Dalot at right-back, a centre-back pairing of De Ligt and Martinez, with Mazraoui at left-back.
Further up the pitch, Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro seem the first choice defensive midfield picks with Ten Hag probably electing to start with a false nine in Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount behind, just as he did in the promising Community Shield display. Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford will set up on either wing.
Another consideration is that Ten Hag decides to start Zirkzee as the main centre-forward, meaning Mount would drop to the bench with Fernandes moving into the No 10 role he is used to.
Over the course of the season, the currently injured Rasmus Hojlund will come back into the team and there is scope to change up the current 4-2-31 formation, especially if more reinforcements arrive. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd, 2024)