Erik ten Hag hoped to begin his Manchester United career with success, but the team has lost both of its first two games of the season. A 2-1 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion and a 4-0 loss to Brentford have resulted in Manchester United trying to complete more signings before the end of the transfer window.
Manchester United’s next game is against Liverpool. The team is currently in last place in the Premier League and is one of only three teams without a point in the first two weeks of the season. Before the end of the transfer window, Ten Hag has to find ways to improve Manchester United ahead of his first season as manager.
Manchester United’s Transfer Window So Far
Manchester United has signed three new players so far this transfer window. Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, and Christian Eriksen. Martinez and Eriksen have started in both Premier League games so far this season, while Malacia entered both games as a substitute.
All three players will be important during the next few seasons for Manchester United. Malacia could be the team’s starting left-back in the future. Martinez, who is 24, will likely be a starting center-back for the team for the next several years. While Eriksen will help provide midfield depth and will play at every position in Manchester United’s midfield over the next few seasons.
However, the main priority for Manchester United at the beginning of this summer was signing a defensive midfielder. Multiple midfielders left the team after their contracts ended at the end of last season, and Ten Hag needed to improve the position ahead of this season.
Ten Hag hoped to sign Frenkie de Jong to play at the position for Manchester United. De Jong previously played at Ajax when Ten Hag was the manager before departing to sign with FC Barcelona.
During the summer Manchester United has been unable to complete the signing of De Jong. It is unlikely that De Jong will sign with the team before the end of the transfer window, and he will probably remain at Barcelona or sign with Chelsea. As a result, Ten Hag and Manchester United have two weeks to sign another player to strengthen the team’s most important midfield position.
In addition, Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester United this summer. Ronaldo reportedly wants to play in the Champions League this season, which Manchester United did not qualify for due to finishing sixth in the Premier League last year.
It isn’t clear whether or not Ronaldo will actually leave Manchester United this summer. Ten Hag has been interested in signing a forward this summer in order to improve the team’s depth. If Ronaldo joined a new team this summer Manchester United would need to sign a forward before the transfer window ended to have enough depth at the forward positions to have success this season.
Manchester United’s Goals During The Last Two Weeks of the Transfer Window
The top priority for Manchester United during the last few weeks of the summer transfer window will be signing a midfielder. Over the last week, Adrien Rabiot, Moises Caicedo, and Casemiro have reportedly been players Ten Hag and Manchester United have considered signing.
In addition, Manchester United still wants to sign a forward and a right-back before the end of the transfer window. The team is reportedly interested in forward Cody Gakpo, who plays for PSV Eindhoven, and in right-back Sergino Dest, who plays for Barcelona and the United States national team.
The summer transfer window has not gone the way Manchester United expected so far. With only two weeks left until the end of the transfer window on September 1, the team still needs to sign a midfielder, forward, and right-back.
Manchester United’s summer transfer window could still be successful. However, the first two games of the season have shown that Ten Hag still needs to improve the team this summer. If the team is unable to complete any more transfers, Ten Hag’s first season as the manager of Manchester United is unlikely to be successful.
