Former captain Gary Neville believes Erik ten Hag will oversee a "brutal transition" at Manchester United this forthcoming summer.
Neville made the admission ahead of United facing Chelsea at Old Trafford on Thursday evening. Ten Hag was installed as United's new manager ahead of next season last week, bringing an end to months of speculation.
The Dutchman, who is currently in charge of Ajax, will be tasked with overseeing one of the biggest summers United have faced in recent years, with big changes needing to made to the first-team squad. Big-name stars, including Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani, are out-of-contract this summer and are expected to leave, freeing up spaces in the squad for new additions.
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However, former United man Neville believes even more players could be shown the exit door. He has likened Ten Hag's impending arrival at Old Trafford to when Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola took over at Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively.
"If Erik ten Hag is going to be really brutal like Jurgen Klopp was when he went into Liverpool, and got rid of [Christian] Benteke, or when Joe Hart was let go by Pep Guardiola, he is going to be letting a lot of this lot go, because they can't press high up the pitch, they haven't got the physicality, they don't want to win the ball back early, they don't chase down and hunt together," Neville told Sky Sports.
"You could point towards it being a coaching thing, but it has not happened under Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] and it has not happened now under someone [Rangnick] who has been renowned for playing that type of system throughout his coaching career. I think there is going to be a massive, massive change, and obviously five or six of them are going because they are out-of-contract.
"But I can see even more being let go in a real sort of brutal transition, if you like. I know 'character' and 'personality' are words that are used a lot by us all, but I think we need to be more specific with what we mean by that."
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