Ten Hag still really needs De Jong
"We are still looking for a player who plays well in the central midfield position but has to be the right one. In fact, there are not many players in the world who are of good quality at the moment as Man United require. When they could not find them, the coaching staff was forced to use the existing ones and develop them up.
I will not choose any player randomly to take this position. M.U has a long list and clubs that are qualified to support all stars when coming here. As soon as the goal is within reach, Man United will strive to achieve it" - Ten Hag shared.
This is what the Dutch strategist said about De Jong. All of Ten Hag's thoughts, statements and actions up to now show that he is still waiting for his former student to be able to reunite. Not only did he like Carrick in the past have good tackles, Ten Hag also wanted to control more. M.U's midfield will certainly rotate a lot of personnel but De Jong will have a starting position.
Including young players, M.U have McTominay, Fred, Garner, Savage and Iqbal who can play as central midfielders but none of them meet the requirements.
Ronaldo is still a shining star
"We have always known Ronaldo as a top professional player in the world. He is always energetic, I just needed to know that was enough. CR7 is still practicing every day.
Man United will play in a certain style. When he has a good defense, Ronaldo will be the top superstar on the attack front. In his peak career, this is not uncommon.
The players will decide how the team plays, especially the players who can score, we have to build a squad around them" - Ten Hag shared.
Since Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford, Ten Hag has not had a direct conversation with CR7. Instead of calling the Portuguese superstar, Ten Hag focused all his intelligence on the current squad. On the contrary, does Ronaldo see Ten Hag as being too demanding and want him to stay?
Ten Hag said that the team is completely capable of extending Ronaldo's contract by another year compared to the current 2-year contract. For Ten Hag, everything has to go through a process, there cannot be immediate results.
Maguire's captain
"I always consider captaincy as a big thing that needs to be prioritized. Building good spirit for the whole team is the first priority. right now, Maguire is a really important player and I'm happy with him.
The captaincy will give Maguire more confidence and I will support him continuously. As for him, as a capable player, I think Maguire knows what to do.
However, internal competition still exists and that is what M.U needs. You can't win with just 11 men on the pitch, you need a deep squad, high-quality players to compete in many tournaments" - Ten Hag shared.
Ten Hag did not want to put the captain's armband on the voting table, easily losing the atmosphere in the dressing room. He and Rangnick both want Maguire to keep it. Support for the English centre-back is not unconditional, Maguire was forced to prove his ability.
In 2022-23 and 2023-24, Ten Hag will still give Magurie the captain's armband and wait for the star to regain his form from his time at Old Trafford.
