Ten Hag 'to stay in charge of Man Utd transfers' despite Ratcliffe blast

18 October 2023 , 12:09

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Ten Hag 'to stay in charge of Man Utd transfers' despite Ratcliffe blast

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov believes Erik ten Hag will remain in charge of transfer business should Sir Jim Ratcliffe's proposal to buy a 25 percent minority stake in the club go through.

Ratcliffe is set to pay £1.4billion for his stake in United and wants to take charge of the sporting side of the business. The INEOS chief, who also owns French club Nice and Swiss outfit Lausanne, is said to be planning a major overhaul of the way United is run.

He has previously criticised United for spending "dumb money" on players since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, singling out the £52million purchase of Fred in 2018 as a particularly poor piece of business. And Ratcliffe reportedly voiced these same concerns to United chiefs when he toured the club's facilities in March.

According to the Guardian, Ratcliffe questioned the £60m signing of Casemiro while being given a presentation at Carrington with chief executive Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough in attendance. Casemiro, who joined from Real Madrid last summer on a big-money long-term deal, was said to have been used as an example of United's questionable recruitment in recent years.

And Ten Hag is thought to have played a big role in the signing, alongside Arnold and Murtough, speaking directly with the player and helping convince him to leave Real. United have spent over £400m on new players since Ten Hag took charge and his influence on their signings is clear to see.

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Chelsea are the only Premier League side to have spent more money on players across the same period and three of United's biggest signings, Lisandro Martinez, Antony and Andre Onana, are players Ten Hag previously worked with at Ajax.

Despite Ratcliffe's criticism of United's transfer business Berbatov, who spent four seasons at Old Trafford, expects the 70-year-old billionaire to continue backing Ten Hag. "Everyone is waiting for the club to be run better and if Jim Ratcliffe is the answer then we need to wait and see how it all unfolds," Berbatov told Betfair.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously questioned United's decision to sign Casemiro (PA)

"Looking at what it could mean for the club and what will need be addressed, on the pitch, it will still come down to who Erik ten Hag likes and who he wants to bring in. Away from the pitch, the stadium needs to be renovated.

"It used to be one of the best stadiums in the world back in the day. Now, with a bit of refurbishment, it can become one of the top stadiums in Europe.

"It doesn't need much work, some things just need to be made more modern and in-keeping with the current times. That's all that needs to be done in my opinion."

Matthew Cooper