Man Utd transfer news

ERIK TEN HAG  has brought exciting football back to Manchester United — but he bored the pants off players in his first job as a boss.Initially, at least . . . 
Erik ten Hag helped Go Ahead Eagles reach the Dutch top-flight with ‘crazy’ routines in training that sometimes frustrated his squadCredit: Getty
Now Ten Hag has awakened the Red Devils as they hunt a QuadrupleCredit: Reuters
Sjoerd Overgoor was part of the Go Ahead Eagles squad that had to adapt to Ten Hag’s methods when he arrived at the second-tier Dutch club in the summer of 2012.
Overgoor said: “A lot of players thought, ‘This coach is crazy’.“At the end of pre-season, we did a lot of 11 against zero.
“He showed us patterns and where to take our positions. Starting from the goalkeeper, he plays to the left central defender, then we build up from there.
“It’s a little bit boring because you have no opponents to play.“We did it a lot and after a couple of times, it was, ‘Again? 11 against zero?’ ”
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Like United’s stars — notably Cristiano Ronaldo before he left and Marcus Rashford — the Eagles players also had to cope with Ten Hag’s disciplinary code.
Overgoor, 34, explained: “From day one, he was the same as he’s been at United, just really strict.
“On the first day of training, we had bibs to play eight against eight games — yellow, green and orange.
“After training, we then put them all together and he said, ‘No, I want the yellow ones here, the orange ones here’.
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“If you were late for training, you couldn’t train.
“He was strict to make us more professional.”
The new regime also included the players doing double training sessions and then taking mandatory afternoon naps before being allowed home at 3pm.
But Overgoor felt that Ten Hag was singling him out for the hairdryer treatment.
He said: “At the end of pre-season, even other players said, ‘He’s shouting at you a lot’.
“So, I went to see him and he opened my eyes. He said, ‘If I am shouting at you, you get angry, you win more duels, you are more aggressive in a positive way.
“ ‘You are a player who is satisfied with 80, 90 per cent — but you can really improve so much. That is why I am screaming at you’.”
After that conversation, both men had a new understanding and Ten Hag showed his more human side as the season went on.
Meanwhile, the manager’s “boring” methods were bearing fruit on the pitch.
Overgoor added: “We recognised patterns in games from the 11 against zero training sessions and that gave us a lot of confidence.
“And more players started to think, ‘This coach is something special because what we see in training, we see in the games as well’.
Sjoerd Overgoor says Go Ahead Eagles players were gutted when Ten Hag left them in 2013 to take over Bayern Munich IICredit: Alamy
Ten Hag celebrates with Lisandro Martinez and Antony after winning the Carabao Cup, his first silverware as Man Utd chiefCredit: PA
“We started to believe more and to listen to exactly what he was going to say.”
Like Casemiro at United, Ten Hag described midfielder Overgoor as the “cement between the stones” of his Eagles team.
Overgoor would never compare himself to the five-time Champions League-winning Brazilian — but he and Casemiro both appreciate the relentless demands.
The Dutchman said: “As Ten Hag has done at United, he set high standards and wanted to improve every day.
“On Friday evening, we might win 3-0 and think, ‘OK, Saturday we’ll do a bit of running and relaxing, just recovery training’.
“But at 9am he would come to me and say, ‘Sjoerd, I want to show you some clips’.
“And the clips would be  like I had lost 6-0!
“I saw an interview with Casemiro. He said that he had played with a lot of big coaches but added, ‘Ten Hag has the same attitude as me, every day he wants to improve’.”
Playing a similar formation and style to Ten Hag’s Red Devils, the Eagles improved so much that they won promotion to the Eredivisie, via the play-offs in 2013, after a 17-year absence.
But Ten Hag left to coach Bayern Munich’s B team.
And Overgoor said: “I have to thank him for my career.
We all knew, ‘This is a coach that makes me so much better’. He wanted to push us to another level.Sjoerd Overgoor
“I improved a lot in everything. My level went up and that’s why I played a couple of years in the Eredivisie.
“A lot of us were really disappointed when he left the club.
“We all knew, ‘This is a coach that makes me so much better. If he stays, who knows where I can go?’ ”
The Eagles were relegated after two seasons in the top flight.
Overgoor played in Holland and Hungary before retiring at the age of 32 with a knee injury.
He is now in charge of the Under-13s at FC Twente, his and Ten Hag’s old club, while occasionally turning out for the fourth-tier amateur side HSC ’21, based in Ten Hag’s home town of Haaksbergen.
Overgoor added: “Some tips he gave me as a coach, I give to the players here as well.
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“When I coach the older youth teams, I will use more of what he did. I shout but in my way. I explain why I’m doing it.
“He wanted to push us to another level and I want to do that with my players.”
Ten Hag speaks to his Utd players in trainingCredit: Getty More

NICKY BUTT has revealed that he left Man United because he “couldn’t stand” being behind Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djemba in the pecking order.The former Red Devil left the club for Newcastle in 2004 with the belief that he should have been playing ahead of the duo.
Nicky Butt left Man United for the first time in 2004Credit: AFP
He ‘couldn’t stand’ being behind Kleberson in the club’s pecking orderCredit: Jamie McPhilimey
He has also fallen behind Eric Djemba-DjembaCredit: PA:Empics Sport
Butt was already the third-choice midfielder for Sir Alex Ferguson, as he had legends Roy Keane and Paul Scholes to pick from.
But when Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba both joined United in 2003 and were preferred over Butt, he became more frustrated with his lack of opportunities to play.
He told The Daily Mail: “[Paul] Scholes and [Roy] Keane were better than me but I always played in the big games because we would play a three in midfield.
“So I was okay. Not always dead happy but okay.
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“But I truly couldn’t stand players who were not as good as me playing instead of me, Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba.
“Just because they had been bought. I couldn’t have it so I left.
“But it was hard.”
Butt went on to play 134 Premier League games for the Magpies, scoring five goals in his six-year spell with the club.
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While both Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba only lasted two years at Old Trafford before leaving for Besiktas and Aston Villa, respectively.
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Butt did return to United after retiring to coach at the club in 2012 and then moved up to be the Academy head in 2019, but he left the club again in 2021.
He added:”The second time, two years back, wasn’t hard because I realised I couldn’t be there anymore.
“I could have stayed for 25 years and had a nice little job with my mouth shut but it’s not me.”
It is believed that he had a run-in with United’s football director John Murtough, before leaving the club.
Butt also co-owns League Two side Salford City, alongside Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham. More

MASON Greenwood could be ‘exposed’ to a grilling in a TV interview if Manchester United reintroduce him to their first-team squad.The striker, 21, has not played for the club since charges of attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour were brought against him in October last year.
Mason Greenwood could phase a TV interview as part of his return to Manchester UnitedCredit: Reuters
Reports suggest it could form part of a ‘phased’ approach to his comebackCredit: AFP
He remains suspended by the club but all charges against him were dropped in February and he could make a return to Old Trafford if he is cleared by an internal investigation.
Now, though, he could face a TV interview as part of a “phased approach” to his comeback, according to a report in The Athletic.
Sources told the outlet: “Under the scenario Greenwood stays, United would be likely to follow a phased process, taking into account the sentiment of fan groups, sponsors and the women’s team at differing stages.
“It would include encouraging Greenwood to receive a form of counselling or therapy, ahead of a possible broader rehabilitation.
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“It has also been suggested that such an approach may also include exposing Greenwood to a television interview in which he is challenged on the events that have taken him to this point.”
They added that the club “may seek to frame him as a young man who has made mistakes and is remorseful for his actions” and believe they have a responsibility to rehabilitate him.
It comes after The Sun revealed that Greenwood is set to become a father for the first time as his partner has become pregnant.
A source close to the couple said: “They and their families are both very happy and really looking forward to the baby’s arrival.”
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We also reported that he had met club bosses face to face for the first time since the charges against him were dropped as he bids to make his Red Devils return.
The Sun on Sunday previously told how manager Erik ten Hag had held a telephone conversation with Greenwood after the charges were dropped.
Meanwhile, The Sun revealed that the Three Lions ace had secret meetings with his teammates after the case against him was withdrawn.
However, Greenwood’s hopes of a return to Old Trafford were endangered amid opposition from United’s female stars.
The women’s team were said to be “disturbed” by the prospect of his return.
Likewise, female fans of the club said that they felt he should never play for the club again.
Meanwhile, a top sports lawyer said Greenwood may have lost “millions” after being dropped by major sponsors Nike.
A PR expert added that any club taking him on, should United let him go, would take on a huge financial risk.
Despite this, a Champions League team have made “enquiries” over a possible transfer, while Greenwood himself was reported to be eyeing a move abroad to restart his career if he’s dropped by his current club.
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Other European clubs are understood to have enquired about the star and his potential new league was revealed yesterday.
Manchester United declined to comment.
Greenwood hasn’t played for the Red Devils since being charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour last OctoberCredit: Getty
All charges against him were dropped in FebruaryCredit: AFP More