Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has hit out at teams “inflating” the price of players in the transfer market when the Old Trafford club is interested.
Including various add-ons, United spent just over £180m on four new players, as well as recruiting Jonny Evans on a free transfer. So far, however, that investment hasn’t improved things on the pitch, where Ten Hag’s side have lost three of their opening five Premier League games.
When confronted with United’s summer spending compared to a Brighton side who left Old Trafford on Saturday with a convincing 3-1 victory, Ten Hag brushed it off.
“I think all the teams are spending a lot of money,” he said.
That is certainly true of many clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle and even West Ham. Brighton also did spend over £80m but actually turned nearly a £100m profit in transfer fees from the players previously bought cheaply that they sold at vast expense. It was then put to Ten Hag that the particular Seagulls team on Saturday cost less than £20m to assemble.
In response, the United boss made what seems to be a valid point of frustration.
“I think Brighton also they spent money as everyone is doing. When Man United is coming, it inflates the price, that is also the truth,” Ten Hag said.
It has often been suggested in recent years that selling clubs raise their asking price when United become involved. At one point, Borussia Dortmund were asking well over £100m for Jadon Sancho, while Leicester were also initially asking £100m for Harry Maguire in 2019.
As recently as this summer, United found it tough to negotiate a transfer for Benjamin Pavard with Bayern Munich because of the asking price. 90min reported last month that Bayern were initially seeking £30m when talks first began, before increasing their demands to £34.5m. In the end, Bayern agreed to sell the Frenchman to Inter for £28m, less than what they first quoted United.
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