The Man Utd transfer mistake that should cost Ten Hag his job

Tom Weber

• Updated: 23 Dec 2023 17:26 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester United's recruitment under Erik ten Hag has been bad, but one blunder, in particular, should be deemed a sackable offence.

The Red Devils boss finds himself yet again under intense pressure after his side's 2-0 loss to West Ham. It was Man Utd's 13th defeat in 26 games, marking the club's worst start to a season since 1930. To add insult to injury, United have not scored a goal in four matches.

It was jarring to watch Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus scoring against the Red Devils for David Moyes' Hammers given that both combined had cost them some €30 million less than €95m Antony did Man Utd. While Bowen has been in Mohamed Salah-esque form this term - hence Jurgen Klopp's admiration for him - Kudus has also impressed, though not quite to the same stunning effect.

The Ghanaian has notched a more-than-respectable 13 goals and two assists from his right-wing position this term - that is 13 goals and two assists more than Antony has managed. In fact, the Brazilian has not scored in a competitive fixture since April.

This raises the question: what is Erik ten Hag actually good at?

Dreadful talent ID

Why does it raise that question? Because Kudus, like Antony, played under the Dutchman at Ajax. The 23-year-old is a player Ten Hag knows well. Kudus consistently impressed in the Eredivisie, hence why he was one of the league's most sought-after players.

Admittedly, Antony also looked good, but as club legend Jaap Stam recently said, he was far from the best player in the division, yet Ten Hag made him the league's record sale when he insisted on bringing him to Man Utd. The club's recruitment chiefs had valued the 23-year-old at a little over €30m, but United ultimately shelled out close to €100m to sign him.

By contrast, Kudus cost West Ham less than €50m despite seemingly every English top club having been keen on his signature at the time. Moreover, the Ghanaian is quite simply a better player than Antony, in pretty much every conceivable way.

While Antony is a one-trick pony who needs to play on the right so as to be able to cut in on his left foot, Kudus is a player who excels in every offensive position, even featuring in a more withdrawn midfield role for Ajax at times. It is a damning indictment of Erik ten Hag's talent identification skills that he favoured Antony over Kudus.

The Dutchman has miserably failed at changing the toxic atmosphere and culture at Man Utd and most of his transfers have been major disappointments. At this point, the arguments in favour of keeping him at Old Trafford are running out.