‘Struggling’: Lineker gives early verdict on Ten Hague signing as transfer policy once again proves questionable

Manchester United have bolstered their former Ajax squad during the summer transfer window by signing two new players.

Indeed, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui join Andre Onana, Antony and Lisandro Martinez as current Reds players who played under the Dutchman in Amsterdam.

Barring recent signings, Martinez is the only one who could be considered a success story – although injury problems meant his first campaign ended prematurely and he was absent for most of last season.

Onana is a much-maligned figure among the Old Trafford faithful, while Antony’s tenure at United has left much to be desired so far. Even without delving into his poor goalscoring record, the fact he cost £86m and now sits behind young academy graduates like Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo says it all.

Read more: ‘I feel sorry for you’ – Ten Hag reels after receiving relevant criticism from journalist in heated post-match exchange

De Ligt struggles in United’s first match

There are hopes that De Ligt, given his excellent experience to date, will be able to work in harmony with Martinez for the foreseeable future, but yesterday he was exhausted by Liverpool’s ever-threatening front line.

Gary Lineker has spoken out on the Red Devils’ transfer business under Ten Hag, telling The Rest Is Football panel: “I think it might be a transfer policy thing too… I suppose he brought in a lot of players he knew from his time at Ajax, but it hasn’t worked out so far.

“I know it’s too early to tell with De Ligt, but he had some difficulties too.”