"It is his own fault" - Jamie Carragher claims Erik ten Hag is responsible for Manchester United's meagre transfer budget
Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher has claimed that Erik ten Hag is responsible for the meager transfer budget he is having to deal with at Manchester United. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS arrived at Old Trafford as a minority investor but the deal is yet to be approved by the Premier League. Meanwhile, the Red Devils are yet to make any new additions to their side in January.
Manchester United have parted ways with Jadon Sancho and Donny van de Beek this month on loans to Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively. However, they are yet to make a new acquisition despite their poor run of form.
Reports suggest that the Red Devils don't have any money to spend to in January and can only sign players on loan. Jamie Carragher has claimed that it is Erik ten Hag's own fault that he doesn't have any financial backing right now.
The former Liverpool defender wrote in his column for The Telegraph, as quoted by Metro:
"United’s recent big-money signings are on him. He had his chance to get it right in three transfer windows and used those resources poorly, taking the team backwards this season despite huge investment. If there is no money left in this window – which may be his last – it is his own fault."
Erik ten Hag has made a number of high-profile signings at Manchester United since being appointed the club's manager in the summer of 2022. The Dutchman has spent well over £400 million on new signings as per talkSPORT and a large chunk of that has been spent on flops.
Antony is the most expensive signing under Ten Hag after he brought the Brazilian with him from Ajax for a whopping £88 million in 2022. Casemiro arrived for £70 million from Real Madrid while they bought Lisandro Martinez from Ajax for £55 million.
Manchester United then spent over £180 million for Mason Mount, Andre Onana, and Rasmus Hojlund last summer.
Dimitar Berbatov advises Erik ten Hag on how to regain Manchester United attacker's form
Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov believes that Erik ten Hag should hand Marcus Rashford captaincy to help him regain his form.
Rashford enjoyed the best season of his career last season, scoring 30 goals across competitions but has struggled for goals this season. The England international has scored just thrice in 25 games across competitions.
Dimitar Berbatov has suggested that Ten Hag could solve the situation by assigning Rashford captaincy, telling The Daily Mail:
"I think that at one point, Ten Hag should give him the armband and say, 'look, I've given you even more responsibility, it's up to you to man up and show me what you might have.'
"That new contract that he signed in the summer [should] give him the confidence to continue and stay at United but at the same time to understand that he's experienced enough, mature enough, that he needs to lead the strikers."
Berbatov has also urged Rashford to find his lost form soon for the sake of his club. The former Manchester United striker said:
"In his case, something is going on. I don't know what it is - maybe something in his personal life, maybe something in the dressing room, maybe something on the training pitch. Obviously, it's not working as before.
"And he needs to find that answer as soon as possible. If he finds the answer, that can be the answer for the team moving forward to scoring more goals."
Rashford signed a new bumper £300,000 a week deal with Manchester United until 2028 in the summer but has since struggled for goals.