Erik ten Hag agents left furious by Man Utd treatment as behind-scenes issues grow at club

ERIK TEN HAG walked straight into a sequence of sticky situations after joining Manchester United.

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Erik ten Hag's entourage are reportedly fuming at the nature of his first summer as Manchester United boss. The Dutchman's camp supposedly feel that he has been let down badly in the transfer market and forced to put on a brave face with club hero Cristiano Ronaldo battling to leave behind the scenes. 

It didn't take long for reports to emerge indicating that Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong was made Ten Hag's top target after taking control at Old Trafford. The pair previously worked together at Ajax and despite a £72million agreement being in place for weeks, they have struggled to haul the deal over the line. 

The new boss is also being forced to scour the transfer market for new attacking players after Cristiano Ronaldo asked to leave the Red Devils last month. Ten Hag publicly maintains that his chats with the Portuguese have been positive, but talks to try and change Ronaldo's mind over the past few weeks have supposedly failed to change his mind. 

According to The Mirror, Ten Hag's advisors are furious at the way his first summer at the club has unfolded. The 52-year-old is believed to have handed transfer chief John Murtough a five-man wish list, but only three new faces are in the squad with less than three weeks left in the window. 

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Erik ten Hag John Murtough the Glazers

Erik ten Hag's camp are supposedly unhappy with his first summer at Man Utd (Image: GETTY)

Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia were signed from Ajax, Brentford and Feyenoord respectively but none of the trio could make a telling impact against Brighton on the opening weekend, as the Red Devils stuttered to a humiliating 2-1 defeat. 

A host of players left Old Trafford at the end of last season including Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani. That shed a huge chunk of the wage bill, but Ten Hag is still waiting for his marquee midfield signing. 

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Time is running out to sew up a deal for De Jong amid a dispute between the player and Barcelona over £17m of deferred wages. Ten Hag may soon have to switch his full focus onto alternative targets and Murtough met with the mother and agent of Juventus star Adrien Rabiot in Italy this week to try and finalise a £15m deal. 

Attacking recruits are also a high priority for United and could become even more so if Ronaldo manages to find himself a new club and Marcus Rashford follows through on links to Paris Saint-Germain. The Red Devils missed out on Slovenian teenager Benjamin Sesko and withdrew interest in Marko Arnautovic after complaints from fans, which leaves them scrambling for options that started the summer way down their wish list. 

Frenkie de Jong

Manchester United have spent most of their summer tailing Frenkie de Jong (Image: GETTY)

Rangy Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic remains one of the club's realistic striker targets, although former United boss Ralf Rangnick has subtly advised the 6ft 7in star against moving to Old Trafford. 

"It is important that Sasa stays injury-free this season and trains and plays at the highest possible level," he told Sky Austria. "If he stays in Stuttgart this season, it will not be a disadvantage for his development."

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