Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are unlikely to make any more signings before transfer deadline day - as he explained how it will pan out for Cristiano Ronaldo.
United have signed Ajax forward Antony for a fee of up to £85.5million and are poised to secure the signing of Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka on a season-long loan deal. But Ten Hag, speaking ahead of Thursday's trip to Leicester, said United's £231m summer outlay will signal the end of their summer spending.
“I think so, that will be it for this window, the end,” said Ten Hag. “But when there is great opportunity, we always have to be alert at this top club.”
United have agreed a fee with Ajax for Antony, with Ten Hag delighted to be reunited with his former player. “First, we have to sign him, so there's an agreement between the clubs. but the paperwork is not done so I can't go too deep,” said Ten Hag. “In the offensive department, we still needed to strengthen our squad, because we have many games to cover, from now we go three games a week, every third or fourth day.
“As you know, especially for offensive players, they tire quicker, because they have to run more, at a higher intensity, so we expect that from them. We don't only need quantity, we need quality. Ten Hag also confirmed Portugal star Ronaldo is staying at United, despite having indicated his desire to leave this summer. “That's clear, of course,” said Ten Hag. “I just said we need quality players, and you need more to cover all the games, to keep the consistency going - that is what we strive for.”
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Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has lost his right-back slot to Diogo Dalot, is also staying put. “Of course, Aaron will stay in,” said Ten Hag. “So this squad, we will go from September to the minimum, January, but we will play with this squad this season.” On United's injuries, Ten Hag said: “Victor Lindelof is training with the team, we will see today how far he is. He has just had one session, he was out for three weeks. Anthony Martial is not available.”
Brazilian midfielder Casemiro could be handed his first start for United having come off the bench against Southampton for his debut. Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has tipped Ten Hag to be a success at Old Trafford, but warned their fans not to expect success overnight. He said: "Erik is adapting to the country and the league, he will understand very quickly that the tempo and intensity will be different from where he's come from. He'll need time to bring in the players he wants and time to put in place his philosophy. In the modern game that can be difficult but I'm sure he'll do very well."
