Former Barcelona player and current sporting director Jordi Cruyff has backed fellow Dutchman Erik ten Hag to restore 20-time English champions Manchester United to their former glory.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Cruyff provided a detailed autopsy of United’s problems that have hampered them in the past, but insisted that under Ten Hag the club have a real chance of returning to the top of English football.
Cruyff pointed to United’s poor signing as a major problem behind his shortcomings.
He pointed to the Red Devils’ strategy of acquiring star players without considering how they would fit into the team as a whole.
Cruyff said: “United have always had a good squad over the years, I mean if you look at their squad and player by player you can see there is a good squad so there has never been a lack of talent.”
“But sometimes good players don’t make a winning team and that’s part of the formula that things are getting more complicated like before, you were just saying, he’s a good player, he fits our style of play, our DNA, you know? Yes, we will sign him.”
The 48-year-old explained that going forward, United must take into account how a player fits in with his team-mates.
This strategy involves the club going out on the market and looking for alternatives that complement a particular player: the net effect is that team chemistry increases and the team improves as a whole.
He compared United’s flawed transfer strategy to a computer game where transfers happen randomly without much thought.
On Ten Hag, Cruyff opined: “In the end, it’s about finding the right balance and I think that with Ten Hag, United have a new heir. It feels like it’s a new beginning and I’m only speaking from the outside from what I read and follow a little bit.”
However, he urged the need for caution and managing expectations, issues that come with new beginnings.
However, he was adamant in his statement that the former Ajax boss is more than capable of successfully handling the daunting task of raising a sleeping giant at United.
