Former Manchester United player Louis Saha believes that Erik ten Hag is Manchester United‘s most important acquisition this summer.
The Dutchman has enjoyed an impressive pre-season recording impressive wins against Liverpool and Crystal Palace. So far this summer, he has signed three players; Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez. But according to Saha, his arrival as Man United manager far outshines the additions of the three players.
Speaking to Sportsmail, the former Red Devils player stated that the ‘very strong’ Ten Hag have put the player back on form.
“I think he has so far been United’s best signing,” Saha said.
“The players were out of form, but they seem to be coming back stronger and the squad seems to be balanced.
“I would have loved to play under him because he seems to be very strong in what he believes, but at the same time, he seems to very really enjoy listening to players and helping them to improve.
“We can see that players enjoy playing under him, but they still need to run hard, really work hard, but enjoy their football at the same time, so there is a great balance.”
Saha also commented on the situation of want-away striker Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugal international who has asked to leave the club this summer only returned to training this week.
He played his first pre-season game under Ten Hag on Sunday when the Red Devils faced Rayo Vallecano, lasting just 45 minutes.
The former Real Madrid man remains one of Ten Hag’s most important players and will be a big miss were he to leave. But Saha is hopeful Ronaldo will line up for the club next season.
“’Cristiano [Ronaldo] has been the difficult part because you have to look for a replacement,” he added.
“But you also have to please the demands of the player because he wants to leave or, or he isn’t happy about the guarantees he received.
“It’s not easy because he’s a player who can still score 25-30 plus goals in a season, and he was pretty much alone last season when it came to the club’s goal-scoring responsibilities.
“If he is in the plans for next year, then I think they have a terrific chance of doing some amazing things.”
Despite wanting Ronaldo to leave, Saha has maintained that the most important thing that Ten Hag needs is to bring stability at the club.
“It’s maybe the most important (stability), ” he added.
“Because the actual job you have, the mission you have is very difficult because it’s so unstable.
“Having a manager who is there giving you a clear indication of what he wants can really work long-term because he can tell you what’s going to work next week or next month and so on.
“It’s so important to have that foundation if you want to develop. You cannot develop if you know that every single week anything can change, it’s impossible to focus.”
