Ten Hag Reveals Manchester United's Keenness On Transfer Market Moves

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Manchester United's manager, Erik ten Hag, has expressed the club's eagerness to finalise more transfers before the Premier League season begins. The team recently ended their pre-season tour in the United States with a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in South Carolina, marking their third loss in five matches. Injuries have plagued the squad, with Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof substituted at half-time due to injuries, and Harry Maguire missing the game as a precaution.

New signing Leny Yoro, who cost £52 million, is expected to miss the first three months of the season after sustaining an injury against Arsenal. Additionally, Rasmus Hojlund will be out until September. Consequently, Manchester United is likely to re-enter the transfer market to strengthen their squad. Ten Hag has shown interest in Bayern Munich's Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui but has yet to secure agreements with them.

Ten Hag remains optimistic about securing new players. He stated that football director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, and new chief executive Omar Berrada are diligently working with co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos to complete deals. "It is always difficult to say," Ten Hag remarked when asked about potential squad changes in the next two weeks. "We hope. We are always looking and this new leadership team is really eager to do business and to make deals. They are on it."

Manchester United will face rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley next weekend. The team aims to replicate their FA Cup success over Pep Guardiola's side from May. With Hojlund unavailable and Bruno Fernandes returning to training next week, Ten Hag experimented with Jadon Sancho in the number nine position against Liverpool.

Sancho struggled against Liverpool defenders Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah. Despite managing an expected goals (xG) of only 0.05 from his single shot, he impressed with his build-up play by completing 13 passes in the final third—second only to Casemiro’s 14 passes. "If Jadon wasn’t an option we wouldn’t have played him there," Ten Hag explained regarding Sancho’s role instead of Marcus Rashford against City.

Ten Hag believes Rashford is more effective playing from the left side rather than centrally. "Marcus has done it before and it is definitely an option but I think he is more productive from the left when he is coming inside," he added.

The club's leadership team continues its efforts in securing new signings while managing current player injuries and preparing for upcoming fixtures.

The upcoming match against Manchester City will be crucial for Manchester United as they aim for a strong start to the season despite recent setbacks.