Paul Merson believes Erik ten Hag will find it incredibly challenging to rebuild Manchester United

 

Manchester United are far from where they want to be and to get back to where they belong they have appointed former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag. However some experts feel that the Dutchman has a massive job at hand as some feel that the job is too big for his stature.

The Dutchman has been associated with Ajax for five incredible seasons but now at Manchester United, the challenge is completely different. He might have won three Eredivisie titles and also played a beautiful brand of football, something that United fans will be looking forward to in the upcoming season.

However Manchester United are coming off their worst season in the last decade in terms of points earned. So with Europa League football, the job gets even more challenging for the Dutchman to attract players as most of them want Champions League football. Hence former footballer and television pundit Paul Merson has warned the Dutch tactician that he has a massive rebuilding job at hand.

“If Ten Hag managed for the rest of his life, it’ll never be harder than what he’s taking on now. This is a massive job. It’s the biggest club in the world and he is taking over when they’re in disarray, “ Merson told Sky Sports.

Manchester United are working intensely in the transfer market but they have not managed to sign the players they have chased till now. They are eagerly interested in FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong. However they are yet to finalize the deal. SImilarly they are also looking to strengthen the defence and if Cristiano Ronaldo leaves they will need someone to lead the attack aswell.

But all of things would have been a lot easier had United finished in the top four with Champions League football in the upcoming season. But without the elite european competition, many players are reluctant to join a team currently featuring in the Europa League and that is something that Merson is also concerned about.

“He needs to bring in as many players as he can because this team is not going to get you in the top four. They need to bring certain players in – (Frenkie) De Jong at Barcelona, he’s a good footballer – and then you move on from there. They need at least three or four players just to make a challenge for fourth place.”

Manchester United are yet to finalize a single transfer in this window and it looks like Frenkie De Jong will finally end up in Old Trafford. However, according to reports in talkSPORT, Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen who is also another target for United has decided against moving to Manchester United despite his current contract with Brentford ending very soon.

The former Inter Milan midfielder was released by the Nerazzurri due to health condition but now with a return to the Premier League, Eriksen is once again back in form and is wanted by many clubs.