Inside Man Utd’s pre-season tour with Erik Ten Hag facing seven nightmare problems
ERIK TEN HAG touched down in Oslo with an almighty hangover.
Not from excess bubbles, as they weren’t popping corks just less than six weeks ago at Wembley as he picked over an FA Cup Final defeat by neighbours Manchester City.
No, it’s about all the problems still following him around as he tries to rebuild for next season.
He should really still be basking in the success of a fine first season in charge.
The Dutchman led the club back into the Champions League with a third-placed finish.
They lifted their first silverware since 2017 with that Carabao Cup Final victory over Newcastle.
There should also have been plenty of positives from reaching that FA Cup Final.
Sadly it just exposed to the footballing world just how far they remain behind Treble winners Manchester City in the most one-sided 2-1 victory you will see.
So what can be looked upon as success for some clubs is not for United because the immediate question Ten Hag trudged away from Wembley was ‘what now?’
And right now he prepares to face Leeds United on Wednesday night without a first-choice goalkeeper with David de Gea gone and a bit of an impasse in trying to land Andre Onana from Inter Milan.
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There is no recognised No.9 with the long for hoped arrival of Harry Kane extinguished early this summer with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy refusing to do business with the Red Devils.
That has sent them scampering off to Serie A in the hope of landing a Danish 20-year-old who scored ten goals last season for Atalanta, and they still can’t get a deal done for him.
The Italians somehow believe Rasmus Hojlund is worth £50million, United don’t.
The thought of starting the season with Anthony Martial up front does not bear thinking about.
Have you ever seen a player in the United shirt look less interested in football, that is on the odd occasion he isn’t injured.
Then there is also a situation that seems to be forgotten around goalscorer Marcus Rashford, who hit career-best figures of 30 from 56 games last season.
The problem there is that he has still not agreed to a new contract as he enters the final year of his current one.
Ten Hag won’t like it but questions will continue in each press conference as to why that has not been sorted.
The thought of starting the season with Anthony Martial up front does not bear thinking about
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Will that in turn affect the player who wants to stay but is yet to come to a compromise with the club placing a £300,000-a-week cap on wages?
As reported by SunSport, Rashford is ready to see who the new owners might be and what they may have to offer.
Oh yes, new owners. That has now been dragging on since November.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim battling it out to buy a club that the unpopular owning Glazer family believe is worth £6billion and they clearly don’t.
The resentment at no deal done, when the carrot of hope was dangled in front of a global fan base during the last World Cup continues to grow.
Is that the backdrop Ten Hag wants each home game with marches, banners and chants?
But those fans have every right to protest and will not let up until there is a full sale.
The club has spent big in the last decade but over the years have also seen over £1bn disappear into a black hole with the debt leveraged onto the club by the Glazer takeover needing to be serviced.
The balancing of the books at Old Trafford left them with just £120m to spend this season.
Already, £55m rising to £60m in add-ons has gone on Mason Mount, the only positive to come out of this summer so far with his arrival from Chelsea.
So there is not much left to get a recognised goalkeeper and striker in if the deadwood cannot be shifted.
Unfortunately for Ten Hag nobody seems to be kicking the door down to buy Martial, Fred, Scott McTominay or club captain Harry Maguire.
Problems, problems.
They were all too much for David Moyes and for Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho imploded, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dream was close but without that cigar we see Pep Guardiola smoking so regularly at the end of each season.
Ten Hag likes to do a dance when there is success as he did on the pitch at Ajax.
He repeated it with Antony and Lisandro Martinez when they beat Newcastle at Wembley.
Unfortunately, right now, he is jumping through hoops.
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