Desperate times call for desperate measures they say, and it appears that one Man United star has taken matters into his own hands and offered himself to La Liga giants, Barcelona.
Erik ten Hag is trying to foster a real togetherness at Old Trafford but is seemingly being met with resistance at every turn by players that are allegedly fed up with his training methods and general manner.
The Dutchman even had to address his strictness in a recent interview (pictures from Sky Sports News):
"There was no good culture" ?
Erik ten Hag claims there was not a good culture among staff and players before he joined Man United pic.twitter.com/hCsbqPHnWQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 5, 2023
It’s clear that he would like absolute control of his staff and players, in much the same way as Sir Alex Ferguson was able to work when at the club.
To therefore have one of his players effectively going behind his back to try and engineer a move away isn’t going to go down well.
According to Sport (h/t Football Espana), ten Hag’s former main man at Ajax, Donny van de Beek, has sought to try and pair up with former team-mate, Frenkie de Jong.
With Gavi being out until next season, only a loan deal could be a possible option, assuming that the Catalans actually have the money to be able to sanction the deal in the first place.
It’s clear that van de Beek isn’t going to get any match time at all at Man United, and whilst the club may not be too enamoured by the player’s initiative, there might well be a deal there to be done.