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Erik ten Hag was sacked by Manchester United a year ago – but several relics of the Red Devils’ mixed recruitment during his time in charge are still at the club. Ten Hag lasted just over two years as Man Utd manager, winning the EFL Cup in 2022-23 and FA Cup in 2023-24 but ultimately paying the price for a lack of progression in the Premier League. The axe fell on October 28, 2024. Ten Hag departed with a record of 70 wins, 23 draws and 35 losses from his 128 matches in charge, leaving with a win percentage of 54.7%. There was plenty of scrutiny on United for their transfer dealings during the Ten Hag era, in which the manager collaborated with John Murtough (until 2024) and then Dan Ashworth (summer 2024) on new additions to his squad. Many failed to make the grade and have already left United, such as Antony, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund. Moreover, loanees such as Sofyan Amrabat, Wout Weghorst and Sergio Reguilon were never kept on. But on the anniversary of Ten Hag’s sacking by United, there are 10 players who were bought during his reign who are still in his successor Ruben Amorim’s squad. We’ve taken a closer look at those 10 players and ranked them in order of when we expect each of them to leave United themselves. 1. Tyrell Malacia United put Malacia on the exit list in the summer after a loan spell with PSV, but were unable to find a buyer for the 26-year-old. The first signing of the Ten Hag era (from Feyenoord in 2022) has since been working hard in training to put himself back in contention for Ruben Amorim. However, he remains a fringe player and his contract is up at the end of the season. United are likely to try and get rid of him before then in January – their last chance of recouping any kind of fee. 2. Joshua Zirkzee Although there was a strong Dutch theme to United’s recruitment when Ten Hag was in the dugout, Zirkzee was one compatriot he never seemed too enthusiastic about. Bought from Bologna in the summer of 2024 after an 11-goal season in Serie A, the forward only scored three goals in his debut Premier League campaign. The decision to offload Rasmus Hojlund to Napoli in the summer just gone earned Zirkzee a stay of execution, but his prospects haven’t improved and now a January exit looks likely. MORE INFO ⏩ Ranking Joshua Zirkzee’s Man Utd escape route options as Prem loan links gather pace 3. Altay Bayindir Signed from Fenerbahce ahead of Ten Hag’s second season in charge, Bayindir initially took on the backup duties in United’s goalkeeping department. He earned some starts earlier this season while United were waiting to replace Andre Onana with Senne Lammens, but the new Belgian shot-stopper has now taken over. Bayindir is under contract at Old Trafford until 2027, but may have to escape if he wants more regular gametime. 4. Manuel Ugarte United thought they were getting the defensive midfielder they needed for the future when they bought Ugarte from PSG in 2024. But despite boasting leading tackling metrics in Ligue 1, Ugarte has struggled to convince in the Premier League and seems to be at serious risk of being sold in 2026. It might take until the summer, but if his form doesn’t improve – and the fact that it hasn’t even after reuniting with his former Sporting CP boss Amorim paints a worrying picture – he could be cut adrift. 5. Casemiro Ugarte was supposed to be the successor to Casemiro, for whom the writing seemed to be on the wall when Sir Jim Ratcliffe highlighted his arrival from Real Madrid in 2022 as a bit of business that wouldn’t have happened under his stewardship. But United have struggled to attract suitors for the Brazilian midfielder, who has occasionally shown flashes of coming back into form. Now 33, he is in the last year of his contract, but in a turn of events, there has been talk of an extension on reduced terms. 6. Mason Mount Mount wouldn’t have envisaged his United career going the way it has when he made the choice to leave his boyhood club Chelsea in 2023. Injury issues plagued his first two seasons at Old Trafford, but the midfielder has begun to regain fitness, starting five league games already this season – as many as he did, for example, in the whole of his debut season. Ten Hag himself would have loved to have been able to count on the England international more, but now he’s at Amorim’s disposal instead, with a contract still valid until 2028. 7. Lisandro Martinez Ten Hag took two players with him from Ajax in the summer after he switched Amsterdam for Manchester: Martinez and Antony. The latter has already left United for Real Betis after failing to justify his price tag, but Martinez has generally proven the sceptics wrong. A World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, Martinez has more than 90 appearances for United to his name. However, he’s only under contract until 2027 and has struggled with injuries, which may be a factor to take into consideration for his long-term future. 8. Matthijs de Ligt Captain of the Ajax squad that Ten Hag took to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, De Ligt flattered to deceive in later spells with Juventus and Bayern Munich. The hope was that reuniting with Ten Hag in 2024 could revive De Ligt’s career, but they were only back together for a few months before the manager’s sacking. Nevertheless, De Ligt has stabilised to a degree under Amorim, whose back-three formation suits him to a degree that he has been ever-present in the Premier League so far this season. Could this finally be the place where De Ligt settles? 9. Noussair Mazraoui Arriving alongside De Ligt from Bayern in the same summer was Mazraoui, another former Ajax player who had previous with Ten Hag. The full-back went on to make the joint-most appearances of any United player – equal with captain Bruno Fernandes – in the 2024-25 season, doing a job either as a wing-back or on the outside of the back three. Mazraoui’s utility in various positions should benefit his chances of staying at Old Trafford for the remainder of his prime years; he’ll be 30 by the time he reaches the end of his contract in 2028. 10. Leny Yoro It was a coup for United to win the race for Yoro in 2024. Beating Real Madrid to a deal for the Lille centre-back, they signed one of the biggest prospects in the world in his position. But Ten Hag never got to use Yoro due to injury and all 42 of his appearances for United have come since Amorim took charge that November. With his injury issues behind him, Yoro can look forward to a bright long-term future in United’s defence, with his first contract valid until 2029 – when he’ll still only be 23.
