Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has been pleased with his forwards during the pre-season games. He feels that they must continue the hard work if the Red Devils are to compete for honours again.
Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have been on fire during these pre-season games. Ten Hag will hope that they can carry on this form into the regular season as well.
Ten Hag chatted to MUTV, detailing his expectations of his forwards, and how they must be playing under him.
Often you see offensive players, they miss, that is what they think, in the offence, the energy. But you can see they put a lot of energy in defence and they get rewarded by scoring goals because we are winning balls high on the pitch. No opponent likes to get beat on the press, in the defending line. I think it’s a big advantage to do that, but you need the whole team.
Ten Hag And His Ronaldo Dillema
A question that arises is the involvement of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese has expressed a desire to leave Old Trafford this summer. However, Ten Hag considers him as a vital part of his squad. He confirmed that the 37-year-old will be reintegrated into the squad upon his arrival.
We are planning for Cristiano Ronaldo for the season and that’s it. I’m looking forward to working with him. I have read [that he wants to leave], but what I say is Cristiano is not for sale, he is in our plans and we want success together.
In his career, he has shown everything. I have set my demand. We want to play in a certain way. A top player can contribute and Ronaldo is an absolute top player in our squad. The players dictate the way you play. Especially players who score goals because they are extremely important for a team. You construct your team around them.
I spoke with him before this issue came up, I had a conversation with him and I had a good talk. That is between Cristiano and me. What I can confirm is we had a really good conversation together.
Erik Ten Hag has proved his mettle with Ajax in the past. Based on a small sample size, he has somewhat improved Manchester United’s situation. The signings of Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez can surely help the Red Devils be competitive again.
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