Erik Ten Hag Addresses Accusations Of Favoritism Toward Dutch And Former Players

Erik ten Hag has dismissed the suggestions that he prefers players with experience in Dutch football after Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui became the latest to join Manchester United this week.

The defenders completed moves from Bayern Munich to Old Trafford on Tuesday, reuniting with their former Ajax manager in preparation for the Premier League season opener against Fulham.

Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez, and Antony also played under Ten Hag in Amsterdam, while former loanee Sofyan Amrabat was managed by him at Utrecht.

Tyrell Malacia, Wout Weghorst, and Joshua Zirkzee come from the Netherlands, plus Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount also played there, which means 11 of the 20 signings made since his appointment in 2022 have a Dutch association.

Asked if that background was something he favored or just a coincidence, Ten Hag said, “No, no, not for favorite. First of all, it’s the club’s decision. None of them is only my decision.

“It’s always backed or even brought up through the scouting, recruitment, the technical director, the sporting director.

“It’s a decision made by more than only one but, yeah, some you know, the players and personalities, and also it has to fit also in the finance.”

Mazraoui and De Ligt, who are both from the Dutch town of Leiderdorp, joined United on Tuesday and go straight into the squad, taking on Fulham in tonight’s opener.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and Matthijs de Ligt

De Ligt is a long-term objective for the Old Trafford club and joined by Bayern in a €45 million (£38.5 million) transfer, which could increase to €50 million (£42.7 million).

“He has fantastic potential,” Ten Hag said. “But Matthijs turned 25 this week, and he has almost 375 games for Ajax, Juventus, and Bayern Munich under the belt. That is incredible.

“Now he is turning into his best years. He has great skills as a footballer but also as a real character, a real personality. I am very pleased to have him here.”

De Ligt could quickly be involved given fellow centre-back acquisition Leny Yoro is injured, while right-back Mazraoui’s ability to play left-back will be important with Malacia and Luke Shaw out.

Luke Shaw suffered a calf complaint that will keep him out until after September’s internationals, frustrating fans given he has not played for United since mid-February but featured in three Euro games.

“First season when I was here, he played many games, so I am very confident we will get him back in this shape,” Ten Hag said.

“He is only 29 years old. Already, he has played many, many games for Manchester United, and if I talk with Luke, he is so committed; he is so united.

“I have a strong belief he will return quickly, and he will contribute to our levels.”

There could be three United debutants in Friday night’s Premier League opener as forward, Zirkzee looks to make his first appearance since his 42.5m euros (£35.7m) move from Bologna.

“I think we have two young strikers who have the potential to grow into top-class strikers with [Rasmus] Hojlund and Zirkzee,” Ten Hag said.

“I think he is close [to starting] but that is one of the complications. We don’t have a pre-season with him, so we need games actually to bring him.

“If you see his background, in the last months, he had an injury at Bologna; in the end, he made the selection for the Netherlands, so that helped him out of our first few weeks of pre-season.

“So, no games, and that is his problem at this moment.

“But now it’s his third week in training, you see him stepping up, his fitness levels are improving, and he needs more minutes and we can’t do it in a friendly. It has to go into the league.”