4 challenges await Ten Hag with Manchester United after winning the League Cup
Manchester United returned to the podium after an absence of six full years, this time by winning the English League Cup, after its victory over Newcastle United, with a clean double, in the final match that was held at Wembley Stadium, last Sunday.
On Tuesday, the British newspaper “Mirror” shed light on the lineup of the “Red Devils” team, which caught the eye during the current season, under the leadership of Dutch coach Erik Ten Hag, who is awaiting a number of challenges in order to continue the great work he is making.
Ten Hag won his first title with Manchester United, although he arrived at Old Trafford only 9 months ago, to confirm that he started working hard with the team that is still competing for 3 other titles during the current season, and it comes to the English Premier League championship. The European League and the FA Cup.
Stay on top
The report indicated that crowning the title the first time was easy compared to preserving it for another season, which is the first challenge that awaits the former Dutch coach of Ajax Amsterdam, like many Premier League clubs that reached their climax in years, and then witnessed a significant decline after only a few months, and they did not succeed. in continuing to achieve its continued success.
Ten Hag aims to maintain a high level during the next few months, which is something that Manchester United players are aware of, according to the report, to follow in the footsteps of neighbor Manchester City, under the leadership of Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, recently, as well as traditional rivals Liverpool.
Solve the goalkeeping dilemma
And at a time when the “Red Devils” squad will begin its campaign to compete for the FA Cup, Premier League and European League championships, at the beginning of next March, there are many issues that Ten Hag must urgently resolve, on top of which is the dilemma of guarding. The goal, whether by extending the contract of the giant Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea, ending the loan of Dean Henderson, or contracting with a new goalkeeper.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper, who last Sunday kept a clean sheet for the 181st match of his career, is still in negotiations to renew his contract with Manchester United, who has been defending his shirt for more than a decade, and considering him the undisputed first goalkeeper of the team.
Find a solution to the attack problem
On the other hand, the report adds that the Dutch coach faces a situation similar to the problem of goalkeepers, as after the dissolution of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo last November, and his departure to the ranks of the Saudi club Al-Nasr, in addition to the successive injuries that haunt French striker Anthony Martial, Ten Hag He signed the Dutch international striker, Vout Vykhorst, on loan from Burnley for £ 2.5 million.
Although the former Turkish Besiktas striker integrated well with the team in a short time, he scored one goal within 15 hours of play, and is heading to return to his club, Burnley, next summer, and thus the 53-year-old coach will be required to sign a striker. New, and costing the team’s coffers a large amount, especially with the appearance of the name of the English star and top scorer for Tottenham Hotspur, Harry Kane, on the management table, in addition to the Nigerian and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen.
Engage the academy players
The Manchester United team maintains one of the basic principles of involving the academy players with the first team, which Ten Hag did in the previous period, with the emergence of Argentine talent Alejandro Garnacho, in addition to Kobe Maino, and he will be required to integrate other players, especially after the youth team won the Federation Cup title. The Englishman last season, and the brilliance of other talents, most notably Bjorn Hardley, Matthew Mejia, Noam Emiran and Sam Murray, and they are training under the leadership of the Dutch coach finally, to involve them in time of need during the next stage, starting from now until next May, given the team’s schedule. busy.