Ten Hag sent a blistering message to Man Utd board with Maguire decision

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 3 min read

Manchester United may have made it clear that they have no plans for a big-spending January transfer window, but manager Erik ten Hag replied in the starkest way possible: fielding centre-back Harry Maguire as a striker.

Ten Hag was doubtless making what he thought to be the correct tactical decision as Man Utd chased a second goal against Real Sociedad that would have carried them directly into the last 16 of the Europa League, but at the same time, it was very clear a point was being made: there is simply not enough firepower at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo, with his three goals this season, is on borrowed time at the club. Regardless of how you feel about the Portuguese and his actions over the last four months, it is evident that he will leave when his contract expires in the summer. In an ideal world, both manager and player would probably like to end the relationship sooner.

MORE: Man Utd fans react to Maguire’s No.9 role: Ten Hag told him to defend the other goal

Anthony Martial has been Ten Hag’s preferred option at No.9 this season but missed the trip to Spain because of injury, while Marcus Rashford started the match on the bench.

Beyond that, there is what? Maguire, out of favour in his favoured centre-back role, being hurled hopefully onto the field in the closing stages in a Marouane Fellaini-esque manner in the desperate hope that his chaos factor might be enough.

That is insufficient for a team like Manchester United, one of the biggest, most powerful and richest in the world.

MORE: Martinez no better than Maguire for Man Utd says former England boss

Ten Hag wants January transfers

Ten Hag made it clear after the game.

“We need options. We have problems there,” he admitted to BT Sport after the game.

Meanwhile, John Murtagh, the club’s director of football, has failed to promise the Dutchman anything in January.

He noted in September that the club is “slightly ahead of where we expected to be” in terms of their rebuild following the summer. Murtagh was talking in a financial sense and not necessarily in terms of performance, with Man Utd having blown their summer budget.

But Ten Hag wants, needs and deserves more – and the sight of Harry Maguire playing as a No.9 alongside Cristiano Ronaldo should have sent that message to the board.