Were you watching Ten Hag? Rotherham star embarrasses Man Utd target

Ronan Murphy

• 28 Mar 2023 13:30 BST
• 4 min read

Manchester United are in the market for a new left-back, but manager Erik ten Hag will be less than impressed with one of his targets during international break.

Tyrell Malacia arrived from Feyenoord last summer and has featured sporadically in a four-man backline, while Luke Shaw has been used as a centre-back as well as a left-back.

Ten Hag wants better depth at the position, especially if Shaw is to play in the middle more frequently and had earmarked AC Milan defender Theo Hernandez as a possible summer signing.

However, he will have been disappointed with Hernandez's performance for France against Ireland in Dublin.

The 25-year-old, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €57.3 million, was repeatedly second best against Ireland's Chiedozie Ogbene, a player whose club career sees him involved in the Championship relegation battle.

Ogbene was playing in League Two with Exeter City as recently as 2019, but has been at Rotherham United for the past four seasons, finding himself yoyoing between the English second and third tiers.

A winger or wing-back, the Nigeria-born 25-year-old has four goals in 15 international appearances for Ireland, but spends most of his weekends trying to keep Rotherham out of the relegation zone.

On Monday in Dublin he had a different type of task, partnering Seamus Coleman on the right side for Ireland, where he not only helped defend against Kylian Mbappe, but left Hernandez for dead on multiple occasions.

Hernandez was unable to deal with Ogbene's pace and movement, repeatedly fouling the Irishman to stop attacks down his flank.

🇮🇪 0-1 🇫🇷
"I'm devastated for the guys," says Ireland's Player of the Match Chiedozie Ogbene. "We matched one of the best teams in the world."
📺 Reaction on @RTE2 and @RTEPlayer https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE
📱 Report: https://t.co/MQPj9kO4Lu#IRLFRA #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/kRITygdPE3

— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 27, 2023

Ogbene was named man of the match despite Ireland losing 1-0, particularly because of the nightmares he gave the AC Milan full-back.

Theo Hernandez to Man Utd

Hernandez had been linked to Man Utd in January, with Italian media reporting a possible swap deal which would involve Anthony Martial heading to Milan in return.

Last year, Hernandez had also been linked with Manchester City and PSG, but neither move materialised and he remained in Milan.

He has been at the Serie A club since joining for around €20m in 2019 and helped Milan lift the title in 2021-22 with five goals and six assists, the most of any defender in the league.

Despite Man Utd's interest, his agent believes that Hernandez could stay at Milan as long as they remain competitive: "Theo Hernandez is very happy in this city and this club. If the team continues growing at the same level as he is, then I won’t rule out him staying at Milan forever."

But with Milan now fourth in Serie A, 23 points adrift of leaders Napoli, the full-back may decide their sporting project does not match his ambitions.

However, if he does move to Man Utd, he'll have to perform a lot better than he did against Rotherham's Ogbene!