Manchester United Manager Erik ten Hag, says some players struggle with the Club’s pressure, yet signing for the club remains ‘the Ultimate Challenge’ for Footballers.
Ten Hag has approved the loan transfer of Donny van de Beek to Eintracht Frankfurt during the January transfer window.
Meanwhile, there are also plans for Jadon Sancho to return to his former club Borussia Dortmund, also through a loan arrangement.
The former Ajax boss insist that the club isn’t always to blame when high-profile signings fail to succeed.
He said:
“That is always on those players and how much confidence you have in your capabilities but I can tell you one thing; the Premier League is tough.”
“Manchester United; that is tough to play there because it’s easier to play in almost any other team than United because the pressure is that high, always. You have to deal with that.
“But if you have confidence in yourself, this is the best challenge and this is definitely the best club you want to be at as a player.
It depends from player to player, and it depends especially on the character of the player, their personality.”
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Sancho’s dip in form since his transfer to Old Trafford two-and-a-half years ago has seen the 23-year-old — exiled at United,
for the four months following a public fall-out with Ten Hag — lose his place in the England squad while Van de Beek was never able to win a regular place in midfield.
Van de Beek excelled under Ten Hag in a team which reached the Champions League semifinals in 2019 but the United manager said a series of injuries meant he was never able to reach the same level at Old Traffor
“He has had many injuries, first of all,” said Ten Hag.
“I worked with him for two years [at United] and before he was under different managers here.
He had a loan before as well. Actually, from the first moment I came in here at Manchester United, he wasn’t the player he was at Ajax because he was injured.
“So many times he was not available and then he struggled for a long time to recover from that injury.
That is probably the main reason why he was not playing.
“We decided for a loan in the summer but it didn’t come and then his opportunities are few because also we make appointments and we make agreements with players and contract players in that position. The competition was high.”
Erik ten Hag‘s Manchester United will travel to play Wigan in an FA Cup match on Monday night, followed by a home game against Tottenham.
