Erik ten Hag has given his opinion on the possible acquisition of Manchester United following the Glazers’ announcement that they are prepared to sell the club.
And the Dutchman is sure good times are ahead as a result of the innovative change in attitude from the owners, who had previously given no sign of relinquishing control of the club.
“My information is that it will only be good things, because there will be more investment possible, which is good,” Ten Hag told The Athletic.
It seems the manager is almost as excited about the prospect of a United without Glazer as the fans, and his awareness of the challenge the club faces in catching up to its competitors is clear.
“I look at the competition around the Premier League. All of them have the opportunity to invest. It is a tough competition between seven or eight clubs.
“That’s a change in circumstances compared to five or 10 years ago – the competition is much tougher. Newcastle is coming, even West Ham, maybe not in the table right now, but they have a big investment, definitely Spurs, and then City, Chelsea and Liverpool, I don’t need to talk about them.
“Seven or eight clubs can compete in the league. Even at the bottom, I don’t see weak teams. They are all strong. There are no easy games.”
The prospect of a Manchester United unburdened of interest payments, dividends and a general lack of concern for the club’s infrastructure would be a very different beast than currently competing with the teams Ten Hag mentions.
And it appears that the manager has been assured that he will be given the necessary tools to help United realize their full potential. He was informed of the possibility of a sale by CEO Richard Arnold.
“He said they are open and transparent,” Ten Hag said. “We talked about the culture we want, we talked about objectives, goals and the culture and he confirmed that it will not change, that it will be even better because more money will be available for this project.”
Whether the club ends up being sold outright or simply attracting new investors, Ten Hag seems to have been reassured that his job at United will be made easier by the Glazers’ decision to look for “strategic alternatives”.
But the former Ajax boss is well aware that a simple injection of cash will not be enough to lift Man United back to the top of English football.
“I think it’s also about strategy, not just about money,” he said. “It’s clear that when you don’t have the right, quality players, you won’t be successful or achieve the goals you set for yourself. The competition is really tough, so you need the right players.
“If we go back to where we started, unless everyone is unified, then you won’t make it; so in a way you are in a better situation now than before because everyone is united.
“We are moving in a better direction. But there is still a lot of room for improvement.”
The chances are good that Richard Arnold will not stay in his current role in the event of a sell-off: executive-level turmoil is a common feature of acquisition in any industry, doubly so for a football club.
But given the good start to his Premier League tenure, as well as his clear understanding of what needs to be done to get United out of the quagmire, Ten Hag would surely go down well with any new investor.
He certainly recognizes the need to raise standards at United if the club is to achieve its goals, something that has often seemed to be lacking in the past decade.
“I always say that satisfaction makes you lazy. If you’re too satisfied with yourself and the team, you won’t be able to maintain those high standards. It’s up to me to control that and set a good example.
“We have to live to high standards all the time and then we can compete with the best clubs in the Premier League and achieve our goals.”
With Erik ten Hag and possibly new ownership, Manchester United fans could be seeing the start of a new era at Old Trafford.
