Ten Hag comments after Liverpool win hint at where Man Utd must sign next
James Shearman
- Updated: 13 Jul 2022 12:28 BST
- 4 min read
Manchester United may have beaten Liverpool 4-0 in pre-season, but Erik ten Hag's comments after the game hint that there there is transfer business still to be done at Old Trafford.
United lined up with something approaching their full-strength side in Bangkok, with Bruno Fernandes, David de Gea and Raphael Varane among their number, and goals from Jadon Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial and Facundo Pellistri will have left Red Devils fans smiling.
Liverpool gave Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Fabinho a rest for the first hour at the Rajamangala National Stadium, though, and Ten Hag was taking nothing for granted after the game.
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Indeed, the scoreline is fairly generous to Ten Hag's side, too, as Liverpool had plenty of chances themselves - something the Dutchman mentioned to Stadium Astro.
"We have a lot to do," he said. "Liverpool's a brilliant team and when you make mistakes in defending you can't beat them.
"We had some situations and we did not act well and immediately they had so many speed, and so we conceded three, four, five really good chances again. So we have a lot of work to do."
Now, plenty of that work will be done on the training ground with the current crop of players, but he could also be referring to targeting a defender in the transfer market.
Three defenders Man Utd could sign this summer
Jurrien Timber (Ajax)
The latest talisman to come out of the Ajax academy, Jurrien Timber has already made more than 50 appearances for his side at the tender age of 21.
Timber can play across the defence, however he primarily features at centre-back and has already received seven caps from the Dutch national team including three at Euro 2020.
A candidate for European Golden Boy, Timber has been suggested as one of the players who incoming Man Utd manager Ten Hag could bring with him to the club next season.
Starting #MUTOUR22 with a win! ✔️🔴#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 12, 2022
Pau Torres (Villarreal)
Man Utd have been interested in Pau Torres for a couple of years now and are back in for the Spain centre back this summer.
Torres was one of the best defenders in the Champions League this past season as Villarreal made it to the semi-finals.
His agents travelled to England last week to begin talks with Man Utd and this is a deal that can potentially be done.
Ten Hag has approved the move as he likes his centre back's to be good on the ball like the left-footed Spaniard.
Lisandro Martinez (Ajax)
Similar to Malacia, Man Utd saw interest in Lisandro Martinez, notably from Arsenal, and acted following the emergence of such news.
Mikel Arteta's side are fully in the race to sign him, but Man Utd have increased their interest in Martinez and have begun actively pursuing a deal for the versatile defender.
Martinez, who can play centre-back, left-back or even in midfield, is admired by Ten Hag, who is keen to add defensive reinforcements to his squad.
Man Utd have now held positive talks with Martinez and are confident of striking an agreement with Ajax and the player.
His arrival could suggest Ten Hag may move to a back-three, although he could simply replace Harry Maguire at centre-back.
