Erik ten Hag has blamed injuries for ruining Donny van de Beek’s spell at Manchester United and insisted his experience should not put off other players from signing for the club.
Van de Beek, 26, has joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan until the end of the season, having failed to establish himself under any of three different managers – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Ten Hag – at United since joining from Ajax in the summer of 2020.
The £35million midfielder made only 23 starts during his three and a half years at Old Trafford, and already spent time away on loan when he joined Everton for the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, again being limited by injuries at Goodison Park.
Ten Hag worked with Van de Beek at Ajax but hopes that a reunion in Manchester might revive the midfielder’s fortunes proved misplaced.
“He has had many injuries, first of all,” Ten Hag said. “From the first moment I came in here at Manchester United, he wasn’t the player he was at Ajax because he was injured. So many times he was not available and then he struggled for a long time to recover from that injury.
“That is probably the main reason why he was not playing. We decided for a loan in the summer but it didn’t come and then his opportunities are few because also we make appointments and we make agreements with players and contract players in that position. The competition was high.”
Van de Beek is among a number of players who have joined United in big-money deals in recent seasons but then struggled to live up to the billing, with £72million winger Jadon Sancho also close to leaving on loan in this transfer window after a public falling out with Ten Hag.
But asked if others might look at Van de Beek’s experience and be wary of moving to Old Trafford, Ten Hag disagreed.
“That is always on those players and how much confidence you have in your capabilities,” he said. “But I can tell you one thing – the Premier League is tough. Man United, that is tough to play there because it’s more easy to play in almost any other team than Man United because the pressure is that high always.
“You have to deal with that. But if you have confidence in yourself, this is the best challenge and this is definitely the best club you want to be at as a player. It depends on player to player, and it depends especially on the character of the player, their personality.”
Ten Hag will take his United side to Wigan on Monday night for their FA Cup third-round tie.
Andre Onana will be in the squad and should also be available to face Tottenham next weekend before joining up late with Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations.
But Onana’s back-up Altay Bayindir is yet to make his debut after a summer move from Fenerbahce and the trip to the DW Stadium could be an opportunity to give the Turkey goalkeeper a taste of first-team action before he is needed more regularly.
Ten Hag insisted he had confidence in all of his goalkeepers despite the decision not to use Bayindir in the Carabao Cup before Christmas.
“At some point Andre will go,” he said. “We are totally happy and we constructed this group of keepers because we are comfortable with this. We have confidence in them both and both are very good goalkeepers, both experienced at the highest levels.
“I think we can have a lot of belief that we have coverage, but not only coverage but competition between two or three. We are sure that if Andre has to go that we are good, we are in a good place and have a good replacement to fill that gap.”
Montego Bay United dominate Racing United to reclaim JPL summit
Montego Bay United delivered an emphatic 4-0 victory over Racing United at Ferdie Neita Park on Sunday, surging back to the top of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) table. The St. James-based team showcased their attacking prowess, scoring twice in each half to secure their sixth win in nine matches.
First-half goals from Brian Brown in the 36th minute and Shaniel Thomas in the 40th gave Montego Bay a comfortable lead at the break. Despite Racing United's attempts to rally in the second half, MoBay's defense held firm, and they capitalized on late opportunities with strikes from Tyrone Harrison (90+1) and Johan Weatherley (90+4) to seal the dominant win.
The victory moved Montego Bay United to 20 points, level with Waterhouse FC, who climbed to second place with a 2-0 win over Humble Lion in Sunday’s late game. Portmore United slipped to third with 19 points, while Arnett Gardens sit fourth on 18 points following their 1-0 victory over Portmore earlier in the day.
JPL Results – Sunday
Racing United 0-4 Montego Bay United
Vere Phoenix 2-2 Tivoli Gardens
Harbour View 0-0 Cavalier
Portmore United 0-1 Arnett Gardens
Waterhouse 2-0 Humble Lion
Montego Bay United’s clinical performance not only highlighted their championship aspirations but also sent a message to their rivals as the competition for the top spots intensifies. With Waterhouse keeping pace and Portmore and Arnett close behind, the race for JPL supremacy is heating up.
Fans can expect more fireworks as the league approaches its midway point.
Carsley proud of England style shift ahead of Tuchel taking charge
Lee Carsley is proud of the way England's players adapted to a more progressive style during his spell as interim coach, ahead of Thomas Tuchel taking the reins.
England trounced the Republic of Ireland 5-0 on Sunday in their final game before Tuchel takes charge in January, recording their fifth win in six matches under Carsley.
Carsley has been credited with instilling a high-pressing, possession-based style during a successful stint as England Under-21 boss, having overseen the team's European Championship triumph last year.
In their six Nations League matches under Carsley, England's senior side averaged a 69.3% possession share and 624.8 successful passes per match, as well as 16 shots and 1.95 expected goals (xG).
At Euro 2024, their final tournament under Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions averaged 55.4% possession, 536 passes, 10.8 shots and 0.88 xG per match as they finished as runners-up to Spain.
Speaking after his final game at the helm, Carsley hailed England's players for adapting to a new approach seamlessly.
"I definitely felt like I have been out of my comfort zone but not beyond my capabilities," Carsley said. "I never felt at any point I was drowning or I was struggling.
"I've taken the confidence that myself and the rest of the staff will be okay. I think we have got stronger as the windows have gone on.
"You are always learning a lot about yourself when you're in a position you are not used to. I think the most pleasing thing is the younger players coming through.
"We have tried change things. We have tried to adapt and move on the style, the way that we play, the control, the amount of possession we have, the amount of chances we create.
"There has been no resistance to that. If anything, they have taken that on. I think it helps that they have seen the 21s and the way that the 21s have tried to control and score goals."
England's victory was their biggest by a manager in their final match in charge since November 1993, when San Marino were beaten 7-1 in Graham Taylor's last game.
Despite achieving his goal of winning automatic promotion back to League A of the Nations League, Carsley admitted to having some regrets over his only defeat at the helm – a 2-1 loss to Greece at Wembley last month.
"Even though we won five of the six, I straight away go back to that game we should have won at Wembley," Carsley added.
"It's definitely a lonely place in that dugout when you're not winning at Wembley. We’ll keep improving and keeping pushing the players and ourselves."
Italy 'on the right track' despite France defeat – Spalletti
Luciano Spalletti believes Italy are "on the right track" despite the Azzurri ending their Nations League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to France on Sunday.
Adrien Rabiot scored twice and Guglielmo Vicario put through his own net as Les Bleus triumphed at San Siro, with all three goals coming from Lucas Digne set-pieces.
Italy had already confirmed a top-two finish by beating Belgium 1-0 three days earlier, however, so they will join France in the quarter-finals next March.
Despite the result, there were plenty of positives for Spalletti to take from Italy's performance, as his team enjoyed more possession (53.8%), shots (10 to six), expected goals (0.59 xG to 0.39) and touches in the opposition box (20 to eight) than their opponents.
"I believe that we are on the right track, I saw many things we sought in the correct way, but we were influenced by the emotion of the match, we forced the match," he said.
"In the second half the game was managed well, we often had the ball but we have to be cleaner with our ball management.
"The analysis is certainly positive, it is clear that there is something to review. When we return, the group will do this."
Italy were undone by some excellent dead-ball taking from Aston Villa full-back Digne, though, and Spalletti knows they must be more competitive on a physical level in the future.
"The boys wanted to go and challenge the opponent, there you spend energy. The third set-piece created problems for us, then we tried to react to score again, but they are physical," he said.
"Now we will review the situations well, they are one of the strongest teams there is from a physical point of view."
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