Erik ten Hag has urged Manchester United’s young players to improve quickly, insisting that “restrictions” have slowed his side’s progress.
The Red Devils invested heavily over the summer transfer window, signing Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte to bolster the Ten Hag squad that finished eighth in the Premier League last season and won the FA Cup.
However, it has been another slow campaign, winning just two of their five league games before being held at home by Twente in their first Europa League outing.
Speaking ahead United match with Tottenham Hotspur sunday, Ten Hag Admitted inconsistency will be natural due to the amount of young players they have recruited in recent years.
He said: “Where we are now with this squad but with all the restrictions we had, we’ve done a good job.
“I understand the impression that many have Manchester United because the story is very big, but we chose younger players and you can’t expect them to be at the level.
“These are decisions we’ve made and they also have something to do with finances and other constraints we have to deal with.
“We have to improve them (younger players) and they have to improve themselves and we have to find a team that can be consistently successful.
Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund have become key players for United at an early age and played a key role in last season’s FA Cup triumph, but their league form has largely been patchy until the moment of this mandate.
No Man Utd player has scored more than one goal in the League in 2024/25, although they conceded just five efforts, the second-best in the league, ahead of Tottenham’s visit on Sunday.
