Top 5 Worst Signings of Erik ten Hag’s Era As Manchester United Manager

Top 5 Worst Signings of Erik ten Hag’s Era As Manchester United Manager

Elijah Odetokun
May 8, 2024 at 3:48 PM
In this article:
Antony Matheus dos Santos logo
Antony
Manchester United logoFBrazil logo
Wout Weghorst logo
W. Weghorst
Burnley logoFNetherlands logo
Sofyan Amrabat logo
S. Amrabat
Fiorentina logoMMorocco logo
Tyrell Malacia logo
T. Malacia
Manchester United logoDNetherlands logo
Casemiro logo
Casemiro
Manchester United logoMBrazil logo
Manchester United logo
Manchester United
England
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  • Erik ten Hag is at the end of his second season at Manchester United
  • The Dutch manager has signed 16 players in four transfer windows
  • One of the points of pressure for Ten Hag has been his failed signings

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Erik ten Hag has overseen four transfer windows and signed 16 players at Manchester United, and it is doubtful he will be in charge for another window.

The performance of his recruitments has been one of the points the fans have against him, as they have yet to deliver cost-effectiveness in terms of performance and availability.

Antony, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Selhurst Park, London, England, Premier League.
Antony looks dejected after Crystal Palace beat Manchester United 4-0 at Selhurst Park on May 6, 2024. Photo by Zac Goodwin.
Source: Getty Images

Sports Brief looks at the top five worst signings the Dutch manager made.

Ten Hag’s worst signings at Manchester United

1. Antony

According to The Athletic, the club's scout valued the winger at £25 million, but at the manager’s insistence, the club paid £86 million. Two seasons in, he has looked far from a player worth half that money. The Brazilian has 11 goals and five assists in 81 games, spread over some terrible performances.

2. Wout Weghorst

A transfer merry-go-round following Cristiano Ronaldo's contract termination brought Weghorst to Old Trafford, cutting short his loan at Besiktas from Burnley. Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr and, in turn, let Vincent Aboubakar join the Turkish side.

The Dutch striker was abysmal, to say the least. He scored one goal each in the FA and Carabao Cup and none in the Premier League.

3. Sofyan Amrabat

According to Football Insider, financial fair play regulations prevented the club from signing the Moroccan permanently. Instead, they paid a £9mil loan fee with an option to make it permanent for another £21mil. The club quickly decided he would return to Fiorentina after struggling and failing to adapt.

4. Tyrell Malacia

The Dutch full-back was Ten Hag’s first signing at Old Trafford. He was recruited to deputise the injury-prone Luke Shaw. He featured a couple of times in the first year but has not played at all this season due to a meniscus injury.

5. Casemiro

The veteran midfielder’s days are numbered at the club, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe noting his transfer as one of the poor decisions before he arrived. £70mil for a 30+ player on a £350,000 per week salary is outrageous. He was impressive in his first season but began declining after the Carabao Cup final in 2022.

Honourable mentions: Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Christian Eriksen, Marcel Sabitzer

Five things Ten Hag has gotten wrong

Sports Brief analysed five things Ten Hag has gotten wrong at Manchester United, which are piling pressure on him and could result in his being relieved of his duties.

The major undoing of the Dutch tactician was his recruitments; most of them were overpriced and did not justify their worth in a questionable system he had implemented.

Authors
Elijah Odetokun photo
Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.