Erik ten Hag names the one player he needs to sign to play 'Ajax style of football' at Man Utd

Erik ten Hag named the one player Manchester United needed to sign to play in an Ajax style.

The United boss sat down with Gary Neville to discuss several aspects of his time at Old Trafford, including their failed pursuit of Harry Kane, Rasmus Hojlund’s potential, and the spate of injuries his side had been dealt this term.

Moreover, in one section of the interview, Ten Hag discussed the club’s failed pursuit of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong back in the summer of 2022 and insisted the midfielder would have been necessary for United to have adopted an “Ajax style” of football.

When asked about whether De Jong would have helped change United’s play style, Ten Hag said: “That would have been Frenkie de Jong and Casemiro. [They would have] really been connected with each other. They would have been really complimentary with each other. Absolutely.

“That is a typical player if you want to play the Ajax style. You need that type of player.”

On why his preferred style of football had failed at United this term, Ten Hag continued: "Frustration is not the right word because I'm a realistic man. Last year when I came in, you make your adjustments but at the end of the day, it's about winning games. From last year, we found a way to make a very successful team.

"This year, we wanted to make the next step. We bought in a goalkeeper who can play out from the back, a dynamic midfielder in Mason Mount - who has been injured all season - and a goalscorer in Hojlund who is young and needed the time.

"On one hand, we were quite confident we made the right choices and we can make the next step. But all the injuries are coming and we made so many changes in some positions like the back four.

"We've now played 47 games and we had 30 combinations in the back four. They weren't from choices you make, they were forced choices because the players were injured… anyone with even a little bit of knowledge about football will know it will have a huge impact.”

He added: "Then Casemiro was injured for a long period. We had so many issues in the team that you can't always play the way you want to play.

"But the fans want to see a successful team, a team that's winning. What we always try to do, and it's a compliment to the team, in every game, they went for it and they had a spirit.

"We make the adjustments a little bit in our way of play because when you don't have a left-footed centre back or on the left side in the full-back position, you have to make adjustments you want to play, so we did.

"We are not where we want to be with the way we want to play, but the headlines are still there because we want to be proactive, be dynamic and we want to play with a high line. That's what we always aim for.

"We have made improvements. We score more goals after the winter break and also we were more consistent. We haven't had so many defeats in 2024 - only three defeats - but we draw too much. What we can do is put ourselves in a winning position, but then you have to draw to bring it over the line.

"When you have so many changes in back four, the rules and principles remain the same, but the patterns are not there. We don't bring the results and we know that."