Football NewsNeville says Donny van de Beek could stop Erik ten Hag from joining Manchester United
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Erik ten Hag was touted as a leading candidate to replace Rangnick at the end of the season.

 

What did Gary Neville say?

English football pundit Gary Neville has said Donny van de Beek’s experience at Old Trafford could prevent the Ajax manager from moving to Man Utd. Erik is now the number one candidate to become Man Utd’s next permanent manager, with the final details of his contract being worked out behind the scenes. The Dutchman has been reported to want some reassurance before he faces Manchester United, who have slipped to seventh place in the PL, and Neville is worried that Donny could sway his final decision.

Donny played under Erik at Johan Cruyff ArenA for three years before moving to Man Utd for £35m in 2020 but failed to prove his worth in Manchester. Donny van de Beek was sent on loan to Everton in January and Gary doesn’t think he’ll give the club a burning endorsement in any conversations with Erik. According to Gary, if you look at what Man Utd does with the players, there is no one who has grown up. Look what they did to Van de beek. “If you’re Erik ten Hag, I think you’re talking to Donny van de Beek on the phone. How’s Donny? He doesn’t say anything nice, does he?” said Gary Neville.

 

A little about the topic

Man Utd appears to be heading in the right direction after finishing in the 2020-21 PL under Solskjaer, but he was sacked last November after a poor start to the current campaign. Rangnick was brought in to sail the ship on a temporary basis, but Manchester United have since exited every major cup competition while falling six points off pace in the race to finish in the top four.

Gary believes that Erik is now taking steps to avoid a similar fate to Solskjaer and his predecessors. Gary Neville said he suspects Erik’s claims are not financial, they will be about control, recruitment, structure, youth. Neville suspects that Erik ten Hag wants to come in and make sure he’s not exposed to what other managers have been exposed to over the past 10 years.