In a recent interview, Manchester United manager Jens Ten Hagar delved into United's recruitment strategy this summer, particularly the continued focus on Dutch players and the way he works with his recruitment team. Ten Hag emphasized that United's recruitment decisions are not based on a player's nationality, but on the player's ability and the team's overall needs.
Speaking about de Ligt, Ten Hag expressed his admiration for the Dutch defender, but at the same time was honest enough to say that de Ligt's joining is still in a state of uncertainty at the moment. Ten Hag revealed that he was interested in signing de Ligt two years ago, but at that time de Ligt was already close to joining Bayern Munich. Ten Hag also emphasized that Dellihert was not a player he personally specified in his search for a target, but rather a candidate proposed by the scouting and recruiting department after an extensive visit.
Ten Hagar has further explained the process of developing Manchester United's summer window reinforcement list. He revealed that while he was on vacation, the scouting and recruiting departments had worked on preparing a detailed list of reinforcements. Ten Hag said that he fully supports these decisions and maintains close communication with the recruitment team to make the best choice together. Tenhag emphasized that United's reinforcement decisions are the result of the team's joint efforts, not his personal dictates.
When it comes to the issue of players' nationality, Ten Hag showed great openness and inclusiveness. He said that the media tends to report negatively when a team fails to win a match, even pointing the finger at the players' nationalities, but this practice is unfair. According to Ten Hag, a player's nationality is not important to their ability and value, whether they are Dutch, Swedish or French, as long as they have excellent ability and the ability to adapt to the team's tactical system, they deserve to be considered. Temhag also used the example of a player's hair color to further illustrate that external perceptions don't matter, what matters is the player's actual performance and contribution to the team.
