£364million spend, eight signings and transfer control – Erik ten Hag has received Manchester United backing

Erik ten Hag has been backed in the transfer market again this summer as he looks to continue his Man United rebuild.

There are few certainties in life: death, taxes and the headlines that rule Manchester United. The media narrative surrounding the club never outdated given its size, and as we’re now entering an era where Twitter engagement should be financially rewarded, it’s no surprise to see provocative tweets.

Last week, a global account published a chart of United’s “worrying” pre-season results, showing losses to Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund without context, or wins over Leeds, Lyon and Arsenal.

A more detailed article would have included information on previous pre-season victories, or at least explained how the club’s youth (under-21s) played against Wrexham in San Diego.

Another hugely popular account also got in on the action, posting an overview of Erik ten Hag’s spending to date as United manager, but fans were soon inundated with replies saying that ‘they’ 039 were the only club be that offers benefits. Actually.

Both posts have a total of 100,000 likes and thousands of retweets. Manchester United is worth talking about and running the club requires more scrutiny and attention.

Ten Hag coached the Go Ahead Eagles, Bayern Munich II, Utrecht and Ajax before moving to Old Trafford and taking charge of England’s top club, a new challenge for a manager mainly active in the Eredivisie.

Ten Hag spent four-and-half years with Ajax and he spent around £170m during his entire reign in Amsterdam, so coming to Manchester, where he’d be given a significantly larger budget, was venturing into new territory.

The 53-year-old’s most expensive signing in his time at Ajax was Sebastien Haller for under £20m and he was regularly asked to turn water into wine, but the job description at United is different and the champagne has been out.

United made a splash in the transfer market last summer, spending a total of £229m including add-ons to sign five players on permanent deals, which was the most invested in a single window in the club’s history.

Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Antony, mostly players he knew, were brought in and Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund – the latter’s move is yet to be made official – are this summer’s arrivals.

Once Hojlund’s transfer from Atalanta is confirmed, which is likely to be at the weekend, there will be eight players at the club who have been signed by Ten Hag for a combined £364.4m (without add-ons).

The eight Ten Hag signings:

• Antony – £81.9m (plus £4.3m in add-ons)
• Hojlund – £64m (plus £8m in add-ons)
• Casemiro – £60m (plus £10m in add-ons)
• Mount – £55m (plus £5m in add-ons)
• Martinez – £46.8m (plus £8.5m in add-ons)
• Onana – £43.8m (plus £3.4m in add-ons
• Malacia – £12.9m (plus £1.7m in add-ons)
• Eriksen – free transfer

Total: £364.4m (without add-ons)

Including performance-related fees, expenses during Ten Hague’s tenure exceed £400million and there can be no denying he had support as he received significant funds and was able to sign the players he wanted.

Although Frenkie de Jong was the one who got away and Harry Kane was this summer’s dream transfer, Ten Hag has achieved most of his big goals and there is a basis for his rebuild to move into the ‘next phase’.

The problem is that falling behind to win the Premier League is the hardest part of the process. External media report suggests an investment of £364m should secure the title, but football isn’t quite that simple.

Ten Hag have received renewed support and are looking for improvement after a successful debut season, but the club’s Premier League rivals have also gone from strength to strength with Manchester City setting a benchmark to be surpassed with perfection.

If United can win credible league titles and keep the pressure on City until the end of the season, that’s progress. They ended last season 14 points behind and this gap should at least be reduced.

United reached the League Cup and FA Cup finals last season and should be competitive again in this competition as better performance is expected in Europe, possibly a Nations League quarter-finals.

Anyone in the media demanding that United must win the Premier League this term is missing the point.

It will be just Ten Hag’s second year and completing the most difficult step will ultimately take more time.