Erik ten Hag claims Manchester United are ‘more aggressive and more proactive’ in the transfer market than EVER

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag (Image credit: Getty Images)

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are 'more aggressive and more proactive' in the transfer market than they have ever been.

The Red Devils have already recruited talented duo Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro this summer, with transfers for Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui already being drawn up as further summer reinforcements.

Scott McTominay, Casemiro, Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are players that Manchester United are open to leaving the club this summer, as minority owners INEOS look to return the once European giants to the back of English football under Ten Hag's tutelage.

WATCH | How Leny Yoro Solves Man United's BIGGEST Problem

Ten Hag, who is currently overseeing his side's pre-season endeavours in the US ahead of next weekend's Community Shield clash against Manchester City, spoke to journalists at length about the changes implented under the new football leadership team put together by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Omar Berada, Dan Ashworth, Dave and Jason Wilcox have all been brought in to help the club both recruit and sell better regarding transfers and Ten Hag says he is welcoming fresh ideas from the collective as the countdown towards the 2024/25 campaign continues.

"They know and they're so experienced in different groups, in different sport, arts and in business," he exclusively told Sky Sports in a sit-down chat with Melissa Reddy. "And then they know when you are not together, you don't achieve the success you want to. And we are highly ambitious, so we need to be unified and in that unity we have to fight together because we have to be the example for our players and for the team.

Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United poses after signing for the club at Carrington Training Ground on July 14, 2024 in Manchester, England.

Zirkzee joined earlier in the window (Image credit: Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)

"What we've seen is a lot of changes from Manchester United in various approaches. And one of them is recruitment. It seems to be more aggressive, more proactive, but also more in keeping with the profile of player that can actually execute your vision on the pitch.

"So you have to be there aligned and that we want to be proactive and we want to attract players who can execute our game model. And so yeah, from profiling we get the right players and that's a daily process. It's a continued process as well in the window, but also in between the windows. But yeah, that is an area that has to grow."

Manchester United chose to extend Erik ten Hag's contract earlier this summer after sounding out potential replacements

Manchester United chose to extend Erik ten Hag's contract earlier this summer after sounding out potential replacements (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Matthew Holt

Matthew is a Freelance Journalist and has racked up bylines for Manchester United, Manchester Evening News, GOAL and SPORTbible to name a few. A long-term sufferer of Scunthorpe United, he currently resides in the north-west after escaping the smog of North Lincolnshire.

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