Update: ‘Not a good choice’ – Manchester United great criticises transfer strategy News

Eleven of the 21 signings Man United made under Erik ten Hag were either born or had played the Netherlands.

Manchester United Treble winner Jaap Stam admits it “wasn’t a good choice” of the club to recruit so many players from the Netherlands.

Eleven out of the 21 players United bought under former manager Erik ten Hag were either born, or had played, in the Netherlands, including the £86.3million misfit Antony.

Antony and Tyrell Malacia, Ten Hag’s first signing, left United on loan in the winter transfer window and Ten Hag’s penchant for recruiting Dutch-schooled players was practically derided by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe during his round of media interviews last month.

Stam became the fourth Dutchman to play for United in 1998 when he joined the club from PSV Eindhoven for £10.75million, then a world-record for a defender. The Netherlands reached the World Cup semi-finals that summer yet the national team last reached the last four of a major tournament at the 2014 World Cup. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2016 European Championship and 2018 World Cup.

Ten Hag claimed during his first summer he would have preferred to recruit English players but that they were too expensive. United invested more than £600m in signings across three summers with Ten Hag in charge.

Mitchell van der Gaag, Ten Hag’s assistant during his two full seasons at United, told The Sunday Times earlier this month that criticism of raiding the Eredivisie was “disrespect to the league in Holland”. Stam says United took a “risk”.

“I wouldn’t call it a mistake, but it’s definitely a gamble,” Stam said. “Moving from Holland to the Premier League is a big step for a manager and hopefully Ten Hag understood the quality he’d be facing.

“Bringing in players from the Dutch league, where the level of competition is not as high as the Premier League, is always a risk. These players need time to adapt to the league, to the intensity of English football, and to the quality of the opposition.

“A lot of players struggle with that transition. And when you’re signing them for significant sums of money, expectations are naturally high. If they don’t meet those expectations, the pressure and criticism mount quickly for the players and the manager.

“So I wouldn’t say it was a good choice to bring in so many players from Holland. Scouting and recruitment need to be precise. You have to be absolutely certain that the players you bring in can make a difference.

“If there’s any doubt, it’s probably best to look elsewhere.”

Speaking on behalf of FreeBets, Stam is nevertheless confident that Matthijs de Ligt can succeed at United. De Ligt has missed the last five games with a foot injury but was on an encouraging run of form prior to the setback.

De Ligt is the first Dutch centre back United have signed since Stam, though Daley Blind impressed there under Louis van Gaal in 2015-16. After De Ligt left Ajax, he spent three years at Juventus before joining Bayern Munich in 2022.

Bayern cashed in on De Ligt in the summer and he was reunited with his former Ajax manager Ten Hag. De Ligt had become a mainstay in United’s back three under Ruben Amorim until he sustained an injury at Nottingham Forest last month.

“When De Ligt was at Ajax, he was very young when he broke into the first team,” Stam added. “They played a familiar 4-3-3 system that he knew well from the Ajax academy. Playing in the Netherlands is also easier because the overall quality of the opposition isn’t as strong. That period was a great learning curve for him during his early years.

“But moving to a different league, especially one as tactical and defensive as Italy, requires adaptation. The style of defending and the type of players around him were different, so naturally, expectations rose, and with that came some criticism.

“Despite that, he played quite a few games in Italy and then later at Bayern as well. Sometimes the manager made different choices, playing (Dayot) Upamecano over him at the back, but that’s part of football.

“He’s no longer a young talent. You can’t call him that anymore. He needs to be established and performing consistently. Coming to United, he needed time to adjust to the Premier League and the quality of the opposition. But I think he’s been doing a decent job.

“You can see he’s becoming more comfortable, especially playing in a back three. He’s defending well, making good tackles, and his ability on the ball is solid. His confidence is growing and I think he’s proving himself to be a good defender for United.”