Manchester United squad is not fractured, says Ten Hag

ERIK ten Hag claimed Manchester United’s squad is not fractured after revealing that Alejandro Garnacho apologised for liking social media posts criticising the manager’s handling of the Argentine forward.

Garnacho gave ‘likes’ to a pair of messages on X that slammed Ten Hag’s decision to substitute him at half-time of last weekend’s 2-2 Premier League draw against Bournemouth.

The 19-year-old quickly unliked both posts and has now said sorry to Ten Hag, who said Garnacho would remain involved for troubled United’s FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City today (4.30pm kick-off).

Quizzed on whether the Garnacho incident was evidence of player unrest with Ten Hag, the under-fire Dutchman said: “I wouldn’t point to that.

“Alejandro is a young player, has to learn a lot. He apologised for it and after that we move on.”

Alejandro Garnacho is still that guy… don’t underestimate what he’s done at 19 years-old. 🫡🔥📈 pic.twitter.com/4hqh80PQGF

— Rising Ballers (@RisingBallers_) April 13, 2024

Ten Hag’s response to Garnacho suggested he has learned from the fall-out after his clash with Jadon Sancho earlier this season.

Sancho was exiled to train away from the rest of the United squad for several months after criticising Ten Hag for leaving him out of a defeat at Arsenal in September.

England winger Sancho has since found his form on loan at Borussia Dortmund, who made it through to the Champions League semi-finals last week.

“We know Jadon Sancho is a fantastic football player, so that is not a surprise for us, that is not the issue,” Ten Hag said.

“Of course, I follow international football and follow the players on loan at other clubs.

“It was a fantastic game, Dortmund against Atletico Madrid, great performance from Dortmund and for Jadon it’s good news. He made his contribution to the result for Dortmund.”

Battling to save his job in the midst of a turbulent season, Ten Hag cannot afford a shock loss to second-tier Coventry at Wembley on Sunday.

He will need an improved performance from United midfielder Casemiro, who has received criticism for his recent display.

Former Liverpool star Jamie Redknapp said Casemiro’s lethargic effort against Bournemouth last week was like he was playing in a charity match.

But Ten Hag backed the Brazilian’s value to United, saying: “I think we needed the six (position) when I arrived here and last season Casemiro was fantastic.

“This season he struggled with a bad injury he never had in his career, but he is such a winner. Always in his career he has won, everywhere he was there will be success.

“He is a fighter, why he also won big trophies, he’s a personality and he’s a very important player and he will give us success.”

Meanwhile, United started planning for next season when it was announced on Friday that Jason Wilcox had left promotion-chasing Championship side Southampton to become the new technical director at Old Trafford with immediate effect.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Jason Wilcox as our new Technical Director.#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 19, 2024

Wilcox, 53, joined Southampton last summer as their director of football, making the switch from Manchester City, where he developed a reputation for nurturing young talent as well as recruiting some of the best prospects.

“Jason Wilcox has joined Manchester United as technical director with immediate effect,” said a United statement.

“He will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance.”

AFP