- Erik ten Hag was sacked by Manchester United last week after their poor start
- The Red Devils moved quickly to appoint Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim
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Erik ten Hag reportedly did not want to sign one of Man United‘s summer recruits and was later left frustrated by the player’s fitness levels.
The Dutchman’s reign as United boss ended last Monday morning following crunch talks with Ineos chiefs in the wake of their controversial 2-1 defeat by West Ham.
Ten Hag’s two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford yielded FA Cup and Carabao Cup honours but his side underperformed in the league, especially in his final full season, which ended with club finishing eighth.
Now, in the wake of Ten Hag’s sacking, it’s been reported that the Dutchman did not want one of United’s summer signings and was left unhappy with the player’s fitness.
According to The Sun, £36.5million summer signing Joshua Zirkzee arrived at United a stone overweight.
Erik ten Hag reportedly did not want to sign one of Man United’s summer recruits
Erik ten Hag’s reign as United boss ended last Monday following crunch talks with Ineos chiefs
This left Ten Hag frustrated with the player’s fitness levels due to the fact, according to the outlet, he did not want to sign the former Bologna forward in the first place.
The 23-year-old has scored just one goal since making the move from Italy in the summer, which came on the opening day of the Premier League season.
The forward poked home from close range against Fulham but has failed to find the back of the net since and has struggled to find his best form.
Since then, Zirkzee has lost his place in United’s line-up and hasn’t started a league match for the Red Devils since their 3-0 loss to Tottenham at the end of September.
After Ten Hag’s dismissal, it emerged that the Dutchman was reportedly keen to turn to an ‘ex-United centre-forward’ to boost his side’s faltering frontline last season.
The Red Devils’ woes have been influenced significantly by their misfiring attack, with the side stuck on just nine goals from ten league matches.
This was not lost on the departing ten Hag who wanted to sign former United man Danny Welbeck from Brighton over the summer, The Athletic reports.
The striker’s contract was set to run out at the end of the 2023-24 season so he could have moved back to Old Trafford on a free transfer.
But the uncertainty surrounding ten Hag’s position, which later seemed to be settled as United handed him a two-year contract extension, put paid to his dreams of signing the ‘excellent’ 33-year-old.
Zirkzee reportedly turned up one stone overweight after joining the Red Devils in summer
The Dutchman was also reportedly left frustrated by the fact United chiefs failed to sign four star players for the side.
According to ESPN, Ten Hag was unhappy that the club failed to sign Frenkie de Jong, Alexis Mac Allister, Federico Valverde and Harry Kane.
The report further claims that United’s chiefs found his demands to be ‘unrealistic’.
The Red Devils have lined up Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim as Ten Hag’s succesor.