So who they going to get to replace Ronaldo? They needed a striker before he asked to leave. They will be desperate now. Haaland, Nunez, Nkunku were probably the main 3 are the beginning of the window. They've missed out on all 3.
I suppose they could get Osimhen. He would probably be the best signing they could make as a striker. But Napoli will see their desperation and add £20m or so onto the price.
Osimhen is good and would suit the Premier League. His injury record is so so and like you say, Napoli would see Utd coming and paid £60m for him in the first place. Expect an £80m+ fee if he’s a target.
It’s all falling joyously into place here. The new manager propelling all of the signings - the majority of them high-potential players from a league notoriously difficult to ensure successes out of, with little actual pedigree between them. Then targeting one proven player of excellent quality who so doesn’t want to go there that it’s rumoured he’d rather take a £150k a week wage drop than leave.
What Kuper’s said hits the nail on the head - these Eredivisie players are not bad players. I watch a lot of Ajax and really do rate Antony and Martinez, to an extent. But they’re unproven, unblooded outside of a dominant side in a weaker league. Bringing in one or two isn’t a major issue if you’ve the squad to support their growth, which they do not. I’d love to see him bring 4 or 5 in because it will disjoint badly, like two separate teams trying to play different games within the same structure.
It all just smacks of the hierarchy being scared that their approach has failed for over a decade now and hoping Ten Hag is some sort of Klopp figure who will knit everything together and drag the club forward through sheer force of will. I like a lot of what Ten Hag did at Ajax, his tactics were interesting and flexible - something Solskjaer and Rangnick could not say. However, Ajax is almost a risk free test-bed in order to try out whatever combinations and preparations you have, with zero consequence. Unless PSV absolutely nailed all of their foreign signings whilst simultaneously bringing through an exceptional crop of youngsters who weren’t picked off by bigger European teams or Ajax, they have no realistic challenge.
He doesn’t have a massive or extensive background to call upon either. He was briefly Bayern II coach, a developmental role as opposed to a live position. Of course there’s benefits that come with that, but aside from a decent showing for 18 months as Utrecht boss (turned a team that finished 5th into a team that finished 4th. After he left they finished 6th) he has little time in what you’d call live roles. Ajax in the CL is probably the closest we’ve seen to him needing to coach a game plan.
He’s a good coach but I’m not sure good cuts it given the clubs problems. The entire rejection of the collaborative approach that has served us so well - one they’ve made noises for years about adopting - tells me that even if Ten Hag is super competent, there’s little he’ll do unless there’s a massive structural change.
