Ten Hag takes over at Man Utd youth team
Ten Hag revealed that he only agreed to be the head coach if he was given control of the club's U23 team, during negotiations with Man Utd. Over the years, he has worked closely with under-23s coach Mark Dempsey and professional development coach Paul McShane, but has the final say on squad selection, game time and even placement. and the number of minutes played by the player.
According to Ten Hag, this is a completely new thing at Man Utd and he mentioned it from the first negotiations with the club. The Dutch coach also said that the Old Trafford elite are excited about this way of working, because they admire Ajax - the club that has introduced many outstanding talents over the past time, such as Frenkie de Jong or Matthijs de Ligt. "There's a constant stream of talent at Ajax, and I explain that it's because the foundation of everything at the club is the youth academy. When I'm done with the first team, in the evenings, I usually see the players. under 8 or 9 years old practice, and I will stay to watch," Ten Hag said.
Ten Hag took on a similar dual role at Ajax, in order to understand the overall staffing situation, accurately assess the talents from the academy to promote the right names to the first team. According to British newspaper Sportmail, there has always been at least one adult player from the academy in Man Utd's every-match squad since October 1937.
"For me, the cooperation between all the different departments is very important to have the right culture in a club," analyzed Ten Hag. "Like Ajax, when I first arrived at Man Utd, the reserve team was isolated. It was no longer really part of the academy, but it wasn't part of the first team either. I changed that immediately. , like when he took office in Amsterdam".
Ten Hag explained that he still let the coaches work freely at Man Utd U23, but gave orientations on the squad or position of each player. He said: "At Ajax, the reserve team is under the direction of the coach. That is the only way I can influence the transfer of young, talented players to the first team. The ultimate responsibility lies with me for how in which the reserve team plays and the promotion of players to the first team".
After the arrival of Anthony Elanga last year, Alejandro Garnacho is the name from the youth team that resonates when promoted to the first team of Man Utd. The 18-year-old Argentine forward has contributed three goals and three assists in 13 games in all competitions since the start of the season, including five in the Premier League and four in the Europa League. Garnacho's biggest impression was when he scored the only goal in the 1-0 win at Real Sociedad in the last leg of the Europa League group stage and the fourth minute strike sealed a 2-1 victory over Fulham in the second round. 16 English Premier League.
However, Man Utd U23 is not in high form, only ranked 11th in the tournament for the reserve team of the Premier League - winning only one and drawing 7 through the first 12 matches of the season.
