Erik ten Hag made an unusual decision at Manchester United regarding their transfer dealing which the club could regret for a long time.
It is a well known fact that the Man United manager has had the authority to have a say on who the club will sign, something the new leadership of INEOS have decided to change.
The Dutchman’s future has now been sorted at Old Trafford and the Red Devils have decided to keep him at the club, following uncertainty around his future this summer.
At Man United, ten Hag has signed players he has known in some capacity; like Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana from Ajax or Sofyan Amrabat, who ten Hag knows from their time together at Utrecht.
In doing that, the Man United boss passed up the opportunity to sign Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper has made a name for himself as one of the best players in the world in his position, having helped Aston Villa achieve a top four finish and by winning the Copa America and the World Cup with his country.
Gonzalo Goni, the Argentine goalkeeper’s agent, has claimed that Man United wanted to sign Martinez but ten Hag decided to go for Onana from Ajax.
Goni told ESPN:
“Last year he was very close to Manchester United, the coach chose Onana, because he already knew him.
“But everyone at Manchester United later maintained that the ideal goalkeeper to win was Emiliano Martínez.”
Onana joined Man United and found it difficult to settle at the club. The former Inter Milan goalkeeper made a number of high profile errors in his debut Premier League season.
Despite winning the FA Cup, Onana cost Man United a lot of points in the league and the Champions League and his form was more or less the reason behind their dismal campaign in Europe.
United finished eighth in the league and conceded 58 goals, the most they have ever conceded in the competition, finishing eighth in the end, their worst finish in the league.
It could have been a lot different if ten Hag had approved the signing of Martinez who had prior experience in the Premier League.
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