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Erik Ten Hag reportedly believes his new Manchester United squad should do much better and he has identified his early favorites.
The Red Devils seemed to hit a corner under Ole Gunnar Solskjær last season. He guided his old team to a second place in the Premier League. However, it has gone backwards this season.
United should again after a top-4 ranking with Ralf Rangnick in the lead.
The German has struggled to really make his mark on the team knowing that he is only the interim coach. Nevertheless, the Ajax boss Ten Hag – who will soon be the new permanent boss – enjoys hanging out.
The Dutchman arrives while a host of players pack their suitcases for departure. In fact, six stars, including Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard, are without a contract.
Reports, however, have claimed that Ten Hag could kill six more including Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Marcus Rashford.
According to the latest from The Guardianhowever, Rashford is in the core group that Ten Hag wants to keep.
The future manager believes Rashford is entering his top years alongside Scott McTominay.
Behind the pair, Jadon Sancho is ‘on an upward trajectory’ in Ten Hag’s eyes and must stay. Furthermore, the new boss wants to keep academy stars like Hannibal Mejbri, James Garner and Alejandro Garnacho.
As for the older players in the squad, Bruno Fernandes and Raphael Varane are reportedly determined under Ten Hag.
The 52-year-old believes the duo are at the ‘peak’ of their careers and will play a crucial role.
Finally Donny van de Beek gets a chance to save his Man Utd career under Ten Hag. The midfielder was one of the stars of Ajax under his compatriot until United picked him up in 2020.
Since then, however, he has struggled for playing time and is now on loan for relegation battle Everton.
Ten Hag and his Man Utd choose
Van de Beek and Rashford stand out as two players from Ten Hag’s reported favorites list.
First, Rashford’s contract expires next summer, though United are likely to activate their one-year option for him.
Nevertheless, he is a home-grown talent and United fan in his childhood, and as such, he will aim for a new deal as a top priority.
Van de Beek, meanwhile, is almost two years into his Old Trafford contract and he has yet to have a final impact on the team.
He has shown glimpses of his talent when he has had the chance, but those opportunities have been few and far between.
Garner is the outstanding player from Ten Hag’s selection from the academy. The midfielder has been on loan at Nottingham Forest recently and he could still stay on the first team next season.
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