Manchester United have begun the Erik ten Hag era – could Chelsea and Arsenal become his first victims in the transfer market?
(Image credit: Future)
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag could gazump Arsenal and Chelsea with his very first transfer as Red Devils manager.
The Dutchman was announced this week as the long-awaited new permanent manager at Old Trafford, succeeding interim boss Ralf Rangnick. Ten Hag has been heavily rumoured for months now and will step into the role at the end of his current Eredivisie campaign with Ajax.
A 4-0 shellacking at the hands of rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday has further highlighted the task that the 52-year-old has in the transfer window – though United are reportedly looking to make quite the statement in their pursuit of one highly-rated striker.
(Image credit: Mike Egerton)
Football.london have noted United are interested in Benfica hitman Darwin Nunez, following an outstanding campaign in which the Uruguayan delivered the killer blow to Ten Hag's own side. As well as netting the crucial goal in Amsterdam in the last-16 of the Champions League, the 22-year-old also managed to score against Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool in this season's competition.
With the Red Devils chasing a new striker – Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani are both expected to depart the Premier League come summer – Nunez fits the bill as a physical, prolific and well-rounded centre-forward.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea have shown interest in the player, with Alexandre Lacazette leaving the north and Romelu Lukaku struggling in the west of London respectively. United, however, will back themselves to show the kind of financial might that has won them countless transfer tussles in the past, including the likes of Fred, Alexis Sanchez and even Ronaldo himself, who were all reportedly on the radar of rivals Manchester City.
(Image credit: Getty)
This summer looks primed to be one of the biggest in United's history. With countless players out of contract, including Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, the club are also looking to move on several more – and whispers have linked the likes of Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and David De Gea with exits of late.
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
