£173m flop show: Three big-money Man Utd signings led to Erik ten Hag’s sacking | OneFootball

Manchester United heavily backed Erik ten Hag in all three summer windows but he failed to bring the best out of his players.

Ten Hag was relieved of his duties on Monday after the 2-1 loss against West Ham United in the Premier League.

One of the main reasons behind the Dutchman’s failure at Old Trafford is his poor recruitment.

The former Ajax boss was adamant about having the transfer veto but failed to make the best use of it.

During his time at United, he made 21 signings, most of which failed to live up to expectations.

Three of the 21 were an incredible waste of resources and ultimately contributed to his dismissal.

Antony

There is no doubt that Antony has been the most wasteful signing under Ten Hag’s watch.

The eye-watering £82 million transfer fee paid to Ajax only highlights the regrettable nature of this deal.

The staggering amount paid was almost triple his market value at the time of his signing.

He has featured 87 times for United, scoring merely 12 goals and recording five assists.

Ten Hag has backed Antony to succeed, but he sometimes went overboard by supporting him ahead of more deserving players.

Jadon Sancho and Amad Diallo had to sit on the bench as the manager chose Antony to come off the bench.

With Ten Hag’s departure, big questions loom over his future at the Theatre of Dreams.

Mason Mount

The United manager could have signed Mount for free if he had waited for another 12 months.

However, his instant demand had to be met by splashing a whopping £55m to sign Mount from Chelsea in 2023.

While Antony has played and disappointed, Mount has struggled with availability throughout his time at United.

He arrived at Old Trafford over 15 months ago but has yet to accumulate even 1,000 minutes of action.

The 25-year-old is undeniably talented and possesses qualities that could benefit United.

However, after being sidelined for over 160 days, fans have seemingly lost patience with him.

Joshua Zirkzee

Zirkzee signed for United from Bologna last summer for a fee of around £36.5m.

The Red Devils wanted a new striker after Anthony Martial’s exit. There was a huge dependency on Rasmus Hojlund, which was unfair to him.

However, the decision to bring in Zirkzee has not paid dividends. The towering striker has bagged one goal and two assists in 13 games across all competitions.

He is more of a facilitator rather than a striker and is not a direct replacement for Hojlund.

His mediocre finishing was on display when he missed two key chances against Liverpool. These initial few weeks have signalled that Scott McTominay was a better alternative in the box than him.

Zirkzee is still young and hopefully could turn things around after a dismal start.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com.