Are Manchester United still “going Dutch” in the transfer market?

Going Dutch.

It’s a British idiom which likely traces its roots back to the trade rivalry between England and Holland in the 17th century. It’s also, over the past twenty-four months, been used as a criticism of a style of transfer which has become prevalent at Old Trafford – signing Dutch players.

Or, more accurately, targeting players with some previous connection to Erik ten Hag – whether that’s through a shared overlap at Ajax, or playing in the Eredivisie more generally, or representing the Holland national team, or if the Dutch manager had once crossed paths with a footballer while on an evening summer stroll in 2011.

And while it has an undercurrent of truth for Manchester United’s recruitment since Ten Hag arrived in the North West of England, the 54-year-old is not the first manager to suggest players he is familiar with as potential signings, nor will he be the last. The fact that the executive structure (or lack thereof) above him were so reliant upon Ten Hag to dictate the club’s transfer policy is the more accurate criticism.

And as the first transfer window under the watchful eye of INEOS, who gained full control over the football operation at Old Trafford in February, drew to a close last weekend, it’s evident that ‘Going Dutch’ has been replaced with a more measured approach to recruitment, even if a few Oranje representatives have been signed.

A Chaotic First Summer

United’s first transfer window with Ten Hag as manager was a chaotic one, as was almost the standard under the inept leadership of the Glazer family and their executive branch.

Christian Eriksen, who has not played under Ten Hag previously, nor is Dutch, but has played for Ajax, was signed on a free transfer. And while the 32-year-old did not impress in his second year at Old Trafford, and would likely have been sold this summer if a suitable offer arrived, his first season was an undoubted success, especially given the finances involved.

Lisandro Martinez, signed for £56.7 million in the same summer, had played under Ten Hag at Ajax and fits the criteria of the ‘Going Dutch’ criticism, even if El Carnicero hails from Argentina. The 25-year-old centre-back, despite a rough start to life in English football, has been a largely successful season, however. His performances for Argentina during their successful Copa America campaign in July, where he was the standout defender of the tournament, demonstrate his quality.

Neither of these players should, for the explained reasons, be used as evidence of a ‘Going Dutch’ criticism. Casemiro, signed for big money from Real Madrid, evidently does not either. But two of the other recruits from that window – Antony and Tyrell Malacia – are reasonable grounds for it.

Malacia, 25, has not played in over fifteen months with a persistent knee injury. The exact timeframe for his return to the fold at United remains unclear, though the Dutch fullback is now training on grass. His signing from Feyenoord – a £14.7 million deal from under the noses of Ligue 1 side Lyon – was directed by Ten Hag, who believed the left-hand side of the Red Devils defence was a source of considerable weakness.

Malacia initially impressed in his first season after displacing an underperforming Luke Shaw from the starting eleven. The England international would eventually win his place back, going on to have his best season at the club in recent memory; a textbook example of competition breeding success.

Malacia’s injury woes have impacted what had been a positive signing for the club on a relatively cheap deal. There are doubts over the 25-year-old’s physicality and height, with the diminutive fullback a target for opposition managers, particularly within the Premier League, but without his unfortunate knee injury, there wouldn’t be many criticisms of his signing as a cheap squad player.

Antony, however, is almost enough evidence single-handedly to justify the ‘Going Dutch’ criticism.

The Brazilian winger has a strong case to be the worst signing in the history of Manchester United. And, with a long line of purchases as expensive as they were bad at Old Trafford, that is saying something.

United paid Ajax £86 million to reunite the 24-year-old winger with Ten Hag following their shared time in Amsterdam. It’s no exaggeration to say the club overpaid by ten times for a player who has never looked capable of playing in the Premier League, let alone being one of the division’s most expensive ever signings.

The fact that Ten Hag felt Antony’s skillset would translate to English football is bizarre. And it’s made even worse by the success of Mohammed Kudus, another 24-year-old winger from Ajax, who joined West Ham for more than half the amount Antony cost. Kudus has thrived since arriving in London, demonstrating an elite combination of technical and, crucially, physical attributes.

For United to have ‘Gone Dutch’ with the club’s most expensive ever signing being Antony, while West Ham plucked the far superior player in the same position from the same club where Ten Hag had both players at his disposal at the same time, is a testament to the flawed transfer strategy which has besieged Old Trafford in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise. The fact that United scouts actively told their executives that Antony should only be valued at £25 million, only for the club to agree a deal worth more than three times that amount to sign him encapsulates this.

Ten Hag’s first window at United constitutes strong evidence for the ‘Going Dutch’ criticism. But it’s one which should be levelled at the club’s executives as much as the 54-year-old coach, who delegated responsibility to Ten Hag despite him not having fulfilled that level of role before.

‘Abdicated’ feels more accurate than ‘delegated’ in hindsight.

Second Summer Syndrome

United’s second summer with Ten Hag in charge was a more measured one. By previous standards at least.

A successful season, which saw the club return to the Champions League courtesy of a comfortable 3rd place finish in the league, and a first trophy in six seasons with the Carabao Cup win, gave executives confidence they finally had the right man at the helm.

The first signing of the window was Mason Mount – captured from rivals Chelsea in a £55 million deal, potentially rising to £60 million. A 24-year-old Champions League winning England international with a wealth of Premier League experience, Mount ticked a lot of boxes for a big English club that summer. It’s just unfortunate United were the wrong one.

The midfielder had, and likely continues to have, no real place in a team which contains Bruno Fernandes. Mount cannot play deeper in midfield, as last season demonstrated, nor does he have the output to play as a forward. He will become an excellent squad player at Old Trafford if he can stay fit, but it feels unlikely he will ever be one of the first names on the team sheet, despite a skillset suited to the pressing and counter-pressing system Ten Hag wants his players to implement this season.

The ‘Going Dutch’ criticism was levelled at Mount’s signing as the former Chelsea midfielder had spent a successful season on loan at Eredivisie side Vitesse for the 2018/19 season. This overlapped with Ten Hag’s time as Ajax manager with Mount impressing the Dutchman in a 3-2 victory for Vitesse over his side. It feels, to put it lightly, a stretch to include a player born in Portsmouth, raised in Cobham and established in West London in this critique, however.

United’s next signing after Mount would qualify, however.

Under Ten Hag’s direct influence, the Red Devils made the decision to part ways with long-term goalkeeper, David de Gea, and target Andre Onana as his replacement. The 28-year-old had thrived under Ten Hag at Ajax before eventually relocating to the San Siro to become Inter Milan’s number one.

United paid the Serie A side £47.2 million (including add-ons) to sign Onana. As a former pupil of Ten Hag, the Cameroonian international definitely qualifies for ‘Going Dutch’ criteria, but he was a standout option on the market that summer, regardless of his history.

Onana enjoyed a fantastic year with Inter in the 2022/23 season.

The goalkeeper helped his team to the Champions League final against Manchester City with Pep Guardiola specifically naming Onana as one of the biggest threats to his team. The Nezazzurri were desperately unlucky to lose 1-0 to City with Onana’s ability to play out from the back key to their success in the match, and the competition as a whole. Inter also won both the Coppa Italia and the Supercopa Italiana while finishing 3rd in Serie A. Individually, Onana was nominated for FIFA’s Goalkeeper of the Year and won the ‘Save of the Season’ award in Serie A.

If a big club wanted to target a new goalkeeper in the summer of 2023, Onana would have been a prime candidate for any manager looking for a number one with elite ball-playing skills.

Indeed, Chelsea were reported to have registered an interest in the Cameroonian but he snubbed this in favour of a move to United. The London club would later agree an overpriced deal for Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion, owing to a lack of viable alternatives on the market.

And while Onana began life at Old Trafford in abysmal fashion with a number of high-profile mistakes, the 28-year-old enjoyed a quietly impressive second half of the season after these early struggles. It remains to be seen whether he proves a good signing long term, but his skillset will be applicable to whichever manager is in the United dugout if they are a high level coach.

Onana was an example of United ‘Going Dutch’ but in the correct manner, much the same as Martinez.

The club’s third major signing of the summer was Rasmus Hojlund. The 21-year-old Danish international is, surprisingly, not Dutch, nor has he played for Ten Hag, against Ten Hag, or in the Dutch league with Ten Hag. Hojlund did take on the same representation as Ten Hag while negotiations over a move to Old Trafford were ongoing, but this was likely an indication of his desire to complete the move more than some type of overlap with the Dutch manager.

A flurry at the end of the transfer window in 2023 saw United sign three players, as well as confirmation of the return of Jonny Evans on a free transfer. Sergio Reguilon was signed from Tottenham Hotspur on loan to provide a short-term fix to an injury crisis at left-back, while United paid Fenerbahce just over £4 million for Altay Bayidnir to be Onana’s back-up.

All three players had no previous connection to Ten Hag.

But Sofyan Amrabat – signed on loan from Fiorentina – certainly did, and is in second place to Antony as evidence of the ‘Going Dutch’ criticism being valid.

United agreed to pay an £8.5 million loan fee for the Moroccan international, with an option to make the deal permanent for £21.4 million. He had previously played under Ten Hag at FC Utrecht with the Dutch manager seeing the midfielder as an important squad option, capable of playing with, or in place of, Casemiro.

Amrabat, much like Antony, was wholly unsuited to the pace of English football. An impressive debut against Crystal Palace was quickly forgotten by a number of poor displays in which the midfielder looked like he was running in treacle.

However, the system Ten Hag was playing for much of last season left his midfield unit horribly exposed. A deep-line defence were counterposed by a forward line pressing high up the pitch, leaving huge gaps in the middle of the pitch for Amrabat, or Casemiro, or McTominay, or Eriksen, to, understandably, fail to plug. The only midfielder who emerged with any credit last season was Kobbie Mainoo and this is likely a testament to the youngster’s elite potential, rather than any suitability to Ten Hag’s ‘system’.

But both ideas can be true. Amrabat was given no favours by his manager’s deployment of him, while also not being good enough to succeed in the Premier League. The fact the Moroccan returned to Florence this summer and there was no interest in him from Europe’s top five leagues, eventually agreeing another loan move to Turkey, underscores this; despite Ten Hag reportedly wanting the 28-year-old to remain at Old Trafford after his expensive loan had expired.

If Onana was the correct application of ‘Going Dutch’, Amrabat was certainly the incorrect use.

A Triumphant Third Summer

There was a tangible difference to how United operated in the market this summer.

INEOS’ ‘best-in-class’ executive team, comprised of Omar Berrada (Chief Executive), Dan Ashworth (Sporting Director), Jason Wilcox (Technical Director) and Christopher Vivell (Recruitment Head), has been firmly in charge of the transfer window, with a consistency in the value and intelligence in each of United’s deals.

Ten Hag has influence, of course, as his one-year contract extension ensures he retains his transfer veto clause; but it feels as if there’s acceptance, perhaps even relief, on the Dutchman’s side that this side of the operation is dictated by others now, compared to previous summers where the club appeared to look for him for guidance.

In addition to a raft of highly-rated youngsters to buttress the burgeoning talent in the academy, United signed five first-team players for a total of around £180 million. Three of them – Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte – have never played in Holland or under Ten Hag, though Zirkzee is Dutch, while the remaining two – Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui – were part of the 54-year-old’s scintillating Ajax team who reached the Champions League semi-final in 2019.

Yoro and Ugarte were club-led signings which the recruitment team convinced Ten Hag of. Zirkzee was too, despite the Oranje connection, and the Serie A Young Player of the Year is an astute signing the previous executive team would have failed to land, such was the interest in the 23-year-old throughout Europe.

Ashworth, the club’s new sporting director, reacted with amusement over the notion of Zirkzee being Dutch as a reason for the transfer. “[Ten Hag] had never worked with Zirkzee — and you can’t say just because he’s Dutch he knows him! You would put the whole of the English market to me! He’s not worked with him before,” the executive remarked.

De Ligt, 25, and Mazraoui, 26, are both examples of ‘Going Dutch’ in the mould of Martinez and Onana, rather than Antony and Amrabat. The pair were signed in what amounted to a double swoop on Bayern Munich, though their transfers were separate deals.

De Ligt is an excellent centre-back with a brilliant attitude and exemplary leadership qualities. He will, over time, prove to be the signing United thought they had made with Harry Maguire. The Dutch international’s price – an initial fee of £38.6 million – looks a bargain compared to the £75 million price the club were quoted for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, or the failed £70 million bid Newcastle launched for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.

Similarly, Mazraoui is a technically gifted fullback, capable of playing both right-back and left-back, with high levels of international and Champions League experience. He constitutes an upgrade on Aaron Wan-Bissaka, whose £15 million transfer to West Ham, largely funded the £17 million deal for the Moroccan international.

Ashworth concludes that both players were “on our radar” outside of their previous connection to Ten Hag. “It’s a joined-up decision on who comes in and out of this football club,” the director revealed. Sometimes ‘Going Dutch’ just makes sense when the Dutch are going so cheap. Or those with a Dutch connection, in the case of Mazraoui.

As a whole, United’s transfer window this summer represents the most positive one at Old Trafford in recent memory; particularly when the mass clear-out of the squad is factored in, which helped fund it.

In excess of £100 million (including add-ons) was raised through departures this summer with only one noticeable first-team star to depart – Scott McTominay. Ten Hag expressed his disappointment at being forced to lose the Scottish international but his replacement, Ugarte, will likely prove a significant upgrade in midfield.

Conclusion on ‘Going Dutch’

‘Going Dutch’ worked for United this summer in a way it did not always in the previous two transfer windows. They agreed two deals for two players from Ajax, with both already looking astute signings, while refusing to pay for another player former Ten Hag pupil that the manager wanted. Yet, the Dutchman is still in place, and still possesses his transfer veto. So what is the difference?

The executive branch above him, whose competency and experience in leading an entity like the Red Devils dwarfed their predecessors. Berrada and Ashworth, supported by Wilcox and Vivell, have created a “joined-up process” which led to the “best possible solution we can [find] to fill the positions we have identified,” United’ sporting director contends.

Ashworth believes it is “natural” for a manager to want to work with players he has previous experience with. There is always a risk of how a new signing will integrate with the existing squad, or how well they will handle the demands of a new system, or their ability to assimilate in a new country. With a player that a coach has already managed, these unknowns are mitigated somewhat in their mind, as Ashworth recognises: “It is natural in human nature to work with somebody you’ve worked with previously in all contexts, in all business contexts.”

Crucially, this executive team are able to work with the manager, rather than conducting business based solely on their recommendations, as had happened at United in the last decade. Or, conversely, imposing deals upon them, as Todd Boehly’s Chelsea do to their manager.

One such example would be the decision not to pursue Amrabat, despite Ten Hag wanting him. Another would be the recruitment team’s recommendation of Ugarte, which the Dutchman was initially sceptical of, but was quickly convinced of the Uruguayan’s qualities after a comprehensive discussion.

This synergy between the different departments has been scarce at Old Trafford since Ferguson’s retirement. The Scottish manager was essentially able to fulfil the role of an executive, director, manager, coach, and scout simultaneously, but he was as unique as he was brilliant. No other manager can do this.

The fact that Ten Hag was asked to fulfil these demands in his first two summers in Manchester explains why the club did not make consistently good signings. It reveals why United would ‘Go Dutch’ in an inconsistent manner as their manager was being completely overburdened with responsibility far outside of his purview. The signing of Antony, as an example, would never happen with Ashworth as director.

The fact that Ten Hag now has the support of a world-class executive team means he can fully focus on coaching his team. This is undoubtedly a positive for the 54-year-old, but it also means there are no more excuses for poor performances on the pitch, as the problems which have plagued United’s recent past off the pitch no longer apply.

The club are happy ‘Going Dutch’ in the transfer market when it makes sense as a collective decision. But if their manager does not quickly get his squad playing well, given it is largely composed of players in his image, the only Dutch who will be going will be Ten Hag through the exit door at Old Trafford.

After an abysmal season last year, saved by the FA Cup triumph over Manchester City in May, the 54-year-old cannot endure many more results or, crucially, performances like Sunday’s 3-0 abject loss to bitter rivals Liverpool. The fact the Merseyside club have enjoyed such a successful start to the season after ‘Going Dutch’ themselves with their new manager only makes the defeat sting that little bit more.

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