Erik ten Hag has acknowledged his desire to have Frenkie de Jong alongside Casemiro at Manchester United in order to replicate his successful Ajax tactics.
De Jong, who departed Ajax for Barcelona in 2019, was Ten Hag’s primary target upon his arrival at United in 2022. However, despite their efforts, a deal for De Jong couldn’t materialize, leading to United’s acquisition of Casemiro from Real Madrid for £70m.
Ten Hag expressed his belief that having De Jong and Casemiro together would have been instrumental in implementing his preferred style of play at United.
He further elaborated on the challenges of recruitment, stating, “But in the last decade and in this period, we couldn’t always get the players we wanted. But then you have to build and you have to accept that you get talent in instead of players who already proved it in the past.”
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