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Ten Hag himself wasn’t solely in charge of recruitment at Manchester United, with the board having the final say on who was signed and who wasn’t. But his influence is all over the players who have been brought in during the last few years.
Ten Hag coached Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Antony, André Onana and Lisandro Martínez while at Ajax, so he had a significant say in their respective signings.
They have ranged from the relatively successful (Martínez) to the downright ridiculous (Antony), and it’s more of the latter than the former regarding the other players acquired under the Dutchman’s watch.
Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia have barely made the field because of injury, while Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee are strikers signed with an eye on the future when what United need is someone to put the ball in the back of the net right now. Perhaps the smartest signing during Ten Hag’s reign was veteran Jonny Evans on a free transfer.
According to the BBC, United have spent nearly $780 million (£600 million) on talent since the Dutchman’s arrival, and arguably, they’ve gone backward. Even for the second-richest club in world football, per Forbes’ valuation, it’s not a good look to be throwing money around and not getting results.