Erik ten Hag has revealed he was denied several major signings during his Manchester United tenure, including Harry Kane, and the club's current starting XI could have looked very different if he had got his way. The Dutchman, who left Old Trafford almost two years ago, guided United to Carabao Cup and FA Cup success but was sacked after failing to control matters behind the scenes.
Since his departure, Ruben Amorim's spell ended in disappointment and Michael Carrick is now attempting to steady the ship. In a recent interview with The Athletic, Ten Hag described the club as "toxic" and claimed he was offered £72million alternatives instead of his top targets, a reference to Rasmus Hojlund.
Dream XI in a Diamond Formation
Ten Hag's preferred system would have been a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 diamond, the tactical blueprint that built his reputation at FC Utrecht. In this hypothetical lineup, Andre Onana would keep his place in goal, despite being currently exiled on loan at Trabzonspor after a series of high-profile errors. The idea is that Onana could function as an 11th outfield player, sweeping passes up to two strikers.
The defence would be relatively unchanged, with Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt at centre-back, Luke Shaw at left-back, and Noussair Mazraoui at right-back, who could pivot into midfield to form a 3-2 rest-defence with a certain Arsenal star.
Midfield of Rice, De Jong and McTominay
Ten Hag singled out Frenkie de Jong as his No. 1 midfield choice in his first season, but the Barcelona star never made the switch. He then moved on to Declan Rice, who later joined Arsenal for £105m in 2023. Scott McTominay was sold to Napoli in 2024, a decision Ten Hag said disappointed him because United had promised to keep the Scot.
In this dream scenario, Rice would sit deep, sweeping the pitch and extinguishing counter-attacks, with De Jong dropping into the left half-space to break lines and set the tempo. McTominay would add muscle on the right and make runs into the box, while Bruno Fernandes would be liberated from build-up play as the No. 10, thriving in a pocket of chaos.
Front Two of Brobbey and Kane
Ten Hag admitted he wanted to sign Brian Brobbey to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo as a second striker in 2022, a move that never materialised. Brobbey, now impressing at Sunderland, would have a world-class strike partner in Harry Kane, who Ten Hag claims he singled out years ago. "I said to them, 'I want only one player - and you know who,'" Ten Hag said.
Kane, who has 102 goals in 100 Bundesliga games since joining Bayern Munich in 2023, would drift between the lines, linking midfield and attack while finishing chances in the box. Brobbey would terrorise centre-halves, pinning them deep and leading the press.
The dream XI would be: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Shaw; Rice, De Jong, McTominay, Fernandes; Brobbey, Kane.
