Erik ten Hag repeats transfer trick to give Manchester United the edge after private talks

Joshua Zirkzee could become the latest player to be persuaded by Erik ten Hag to join Manchester United after talks last month.

The Ten Hag has a handy habit of naming transfer targets in his two years at Old Trafford, with at least four players holding talks with the manager before signing. Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia admitted as much in post-arrival interviews.

It was the other way around with Lisandro Martinez as Ten Hag revealed that his former player called him after he decided to leave Ajax. Then, last summer, the Manchester Evening News reported that the manager had several video calls with Rasmus Hojlund.

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Ten Hag admitted before the transfer window opened last year that he had spoken to potential targets. That seems to be the case again, despite the many changes at United this year.

Sky Italia reported that the manager spoke to Zirkzee in the last week of June. More recently, Sky Sports claimed that Ten Hag had a personal meeting with the player’s management at Sport Invest and admitted that the manager and the player had direct talks.

Both are Dutch, with the forward coming through the academies at ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord, while Ten Hag was Utrecht’s head coach. From there, Zirkzee joined Bayern Munich in the summer of 2017, where, two years earlier, Ten Hag was the reserve team coach. Although the time spent in Germany did not overlap, it is fair to assume that the manager followed his former employers after returning to the Netherlands.

United not having to negotiate a transfer fee with Bologna due to the £34m release clause in Zirkzee’s contract with the club means it makes sense for the Ten Hag to take this direct approach with his compatriot as personal terms are with the player’s representative are the essential aspect. consent required.