Erik ten Hag showed his tactical versatility when leading Ajax to three straight Eredivisie titles.
The Dutchman went from deploying a false nine in his first season with Dusan Tadic to installing a centre-forward in Sebastien Haller in his final year. The latter is the set-up he is expected to implement at United initially with 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line.
But the superstar is getting no younger and several times last season he was seen missing from the squad, usually through a knock. Ten Hag is keen to reinforce his attacking options this summer.
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He missed out on Darwin Nunez but is reportedly edging closer to landing Ajax winger Antony and has tabled an offer for Christian Eriksen. This could indicate a slight change of tack from the new United boss.
The Manchester Evening News understands that Marcus Rashford may be trialled back in his natural centre-forward position during pre-season. And with Anthony Martial possibly willing to stay on following his Sevilla loan, he might not deem it necessary to bring in a new striker.
Instead, he may use Antony to not only improve his flank assets but also so that he can adopt his early Ajax tactics when Ronaldo is out of action. In his debut season in Amsterdam, Ten Hag used Tadic as a false nine to allow his wingers and full-backs to bomb on and strike home. We saw Pep Guardiola use this in the last couple of seasons at Manchester City.
It may indicate why he is so eager to bring in Jurrien Timber, who can play as a right-back, and a new left-back. It also could outline why he is keen to land Eriksen and Antony - for that false nine role.
Unlike Ralf Rangnick, Ten Hag has a number of contingency plans in his tactical armoury and his transfer targets may hint at these plans.
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