It has been revealed that Erik ten Hag, who was dismissed from Manchester United, has pushed ahead with the recruitment of Antony, whom his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer refused. Manchester United plans to release Antony after Ten Hag.
Manchester United announced on the club’s official website on the 28th (Korea time) that “Eric Ten Hach has stepped down as Manchester United’s men’s first-team coach.” Ten Hach, who took over at Manchester United in the summer of 2022, will leave the team for the first time in two years.
Ten Hag is a Dutch coach who demonstrated his leadership in the prestigious AFC Ajax in his country. He won the league in the 2018-19 season and made a splash by reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. In the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, he won his second consecutive league championship, opening the heyday of Ajax.
In the process, he discovered young players such as Andre Onana, Frenkie the Dragon, Donny Pandervik, and Matheis the Licht, and was evaluated as excellent in fostering players.
In particular, his tactical abilities were praised. He reinterpreted it in a modern style of soccer after inheriting the “Total Soccer” of his country’s legend Johan Cruyff. Ajax advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League thanks to coach Ten Hag’s tactical capabilities.
Manchester United showed great interest as Ten Hach emerged as the most well-known coach in Europe. Manchester United, which has been having difficulty finding the right person since Alex Ferguson retired, appointed Ten Hach as its new head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Although he did not show remarkable progress in his performance after taking office in Ten Haq, he eventually secured the third place in the Premier League in the 2022-23 season, qualified for the UEFA Champions League, won the Carabao Cup, and won the major championship trophy for the first time in six years. The FA Cup also advanced to the final, but lost to Manchester City and remained in second place.
In the end, the limitations were clearly revealed last season, in its second year. It was eliminated from the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, and the ranking also fell sharply in the Premier League, ending the season in eighth place.
He has scored 85 goals in all tournaments, breaking the record for most goals lost in a single season in history, and has even written a record of disgrace, with 14 losses in 38 league games, the most losses in a single season since the Premier League’s inception in 1992.
Manchester United also considered replacing Ten Hag at the time. However, they trusted Ten Hag once again by lifting the trophy after beating his rival Manchester City in the FA Cup final at the end of the season. In July, they renewed their contract to extend their contract from 2025 to 2026.
Manchester United, however, is currently ranked 14th in this season’s Premier League through the ninth round. As the team gained only 11 points (three wins, two draws and four losses) during the nine matches, the gap with Aston Villa (18 points) widened to seven points.
In addition, the team drew all three consecutive games against Tvente (1-1), FC Porto (3-3), and Fenerbahce (1-1), overshadowing the championship candidate in the UEFA Europa League that participated this season.
Crucially, Manchester United eventually pulled out its sword after losing 1-2 in the West Ham United away game. As his performance at the beginning of the season fell short of expectations, coach Ten Haq was replaced about three months after signing the contract and left Manchester United.
The BBC analyzed why Ten Hach could not succeed at Manchester United after he was dismissed. The biggest reason was that he had a problem with his eye to see the player. Even after spending the most money on transfer since Ferguson, he has not achieved a suitable performance. 메이저놀이터
“Manchester United have invested a lot of money in the past three summer transfer markets where Ten Hag was at the helm. They have spent tens of millions of pounds just on recruiting players,” the BBC said. “Most of the players were with Ten Hag in the past or recommended by him. However, most of the players did not have sufficient skills.”
Then, Antony was mentioned as the most problematic player. Antony, a Brazilian winger, had been with Ten Hag at Ajax before he came to Manchester United.
According to the BBC, Solskjaer, who was the predecessor of Ten Hag, was interested in Antony but insisted that he could never buy more than 30 million pounds (53.8 billion won) that Ajax demanded. In the end, Manchester United withdrew its interest in Antony.
However, after Ten Hag took the helm of Manchester United, Ten Hag proactively recommended Antony be recruited. In the end, Manchester United paid a whopping 80 million pounds (about 143.5 billion won) in transfer fee to Antony. He paid a transfer fee far more than double that of Solskjaer.
“Antoni has become the second most expensive player in Manchester United’s history. But Antoni has been terrible so far,” the BBC said, explaining that Ten Hag was the most representative recruitment that had to fail at Manchester United.
Manchester United plans to release Antony immediately. The team plans to put him up for sale in the winter transfer market.
“Manchester United are considering a replacement for Antony, who failed to manage Ten Hag. They are frustrated with Antony’s play and plan to let him go on loan in January next year. It is a way for Antony to regain his condition and increase his value,” the British team talk said. “There are rumors that he will return to Ajax, but Premier League clubs are also showing interest. They are already negotiating with Manchester United.”
“Ten Haah played a decisive role in bringing Antony in. As Ten Haah leaves, Antony is expected to follow him,” he said, predicting that Antony will be the first to be released.
