How Man Utd could've lined up this season if they'd signed the players Ten Hag wanted
Jacque Talbot
- Updated: 3 Oct 2023 12:29 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United looked at a number of possible signings over the summer transfer window.
The Red Devils brought in Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund, Sofyan Amrabat on permanent deals, and Sergio Reguilon on loan from Tottenham.
Fabrizio Romano recently revealed five players that Man Utd missed out on in recent months, including some surprise names.
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One was Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who’s believed to be a long-time target of Erik ten Hag. The former Paris Saint-Germain player was out of contract and would have represented a cost-effective option but he ultimately decided to extend his stay at the Old Lady. "He was considered by the club," Romano said, "but they wanted Mason Mount in that position as a priority target."
Meanwhile, Romano also revealed that the club had their eye on another midfielder, one whom Liverpool had also looked at. "Another name considered in that position was [Orkun] Kokcu, the Feyenoord midfielder who joined Benfica," he said.
READ: 'Man Utd is not Ajax' - Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits Ten Hag risks sack
Man Utd look for left-back cover
Late in the window, with Luke Shaw out injured, Man Utd tried to get a left-back over the line. The club missed out on Chelsea's Marc Cucurella because the player and the club were not keen on the January break clause Man Utd had asked for, so they ended up loaning Reguilon from Spurs instead.
At centre-back, Axel Disasi was looked at, but he ended up joining Chelsea. The defender was a target for the Red Devils but their failed sale of Harry Maguire meant that funds were tight and they could not get a deal over the line.
Man Utd wanted two strikers over the window, but the cost of Hojlund meant that they could only get one. The Dane cost £72million from Atalanta and has been starting upfront in recent games.
But Romano shed light on Marcus Thuram, who was initially at Borussia Monchengladbach. The forward can play various roles across the forward line, which appealed to Ten Hag.
But Thuram ended up moving to Inter instead as a free agent.
