Man Utd takeover: Erik ten Hag responds to Qatar’s mega transfer kitty

Jacque Talbot

• 2 Apr 2023 15:00 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag has played down the importance of having a huge budget as the Manchester United takeover rumbles on.

The Dutchman was asked by reports about the possibility of the Glazers moving on and selling the club, with Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who have lodged their second bids, both thought to be frontrunners.

Particularly the Qatar group have briefed reporters about their aspirations to buy of the best players around and bring them to Man Utd, as fans dream of a club without the Glazers over it.

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Indeed, Ten Hag has insisted strategy is the most essential part of developing a squad.

“Money is one thing, but another thing is strategy,” said the 53-year-old at a press conference.

“When I was at Ajax we had a low budget in comparison to many clubs in the Champions League and still we won the groups, got to the semi-final and were close to the final - so it is possible to beat teams with higher budgets.

Man Utd heading in 'right direction'

He continued: “From my analysis, we are going in the right direction. I think we are building a base this season but we have to progress.

“You can do that by developing the team. You have to play better in every game and in every training session so you can develop your way of playing - and that's what we are doing. “We are setting higher demands and standards for our players every time and for the rest in the summer we will see.

“Just now, that's not our focus point. Just now, it's about a better way of playing so we have a better chance of winning games.”

Man Utd, who recently gave Luke Shaw a four-year contract, are gearing up for something of an overhaul in the summer. But a lot of what they can do will depend on the ownership of the side.