Ten Hag urged to snub Harry Kane and sign ‘next Ruud Van Nistelrooy’ for Man Utd

The Ajax boss is thought to be on the verge of being appointed as the new manager of Manchester United and is already receiving advice on who he should sign when he makes the switch

Erik ten Hag is expected to be unveiled as the new manager of Manchester United in the coming weeks and has already been tipped off as to who should be his first signing.

The Dutchman is currently still at the helm of Eredivisie giants Ajax, but the speculation has ramped up to such a rate if now feels as if it is a case of when, rather than if Ten Hag is confirmed as the new Red Devils boss. As a result, attention has turned to the idea of the 52-year-old overseeing a summer of spending once he arrives.

Plenty of players currently at the club have been touted with an exit, most notably in the attacking department with the likes of Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani widely expected to leave while question marks remain over both Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford’s respective futures.

Ex-United defender Paul Parker believes that Ten Hag should opt against any pursuit of Harry Kane and go after someone of a similar mould to former Red Devils star Ruud van Nistelrooy.

“I think United are going to have to do their homework and they’re going to have to find someone who’s got enough drive in them, who wants to score goals, who wants to play for Manchester United, who wants to make his name and become a great for Manchester United,” Parker told the Express.

“A bit like a Ruud van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy was known as a goalscorer but he made his name, he established himself when he came to a big club like Manchester United at the time and he made it. Manchester United put him up there in the limelight.

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“I don’t want to hear [Robert] Lewandowski, Harry Kane and all that. United don’t need that. They don’t need another 30-plus centre-forward at this moment in time. They just need a workaholic, back to basics as such.”

Despite already boasting the likes of Ronaldo within their ranks, goals have actually been hard to come by for United this term. Of the sides in the top seven, only Arsenal have bagged fewer than the Red Devils. Rashford, Cavani and Jadon Sancho have just 12 goals across all competitions between the three of them.

Kane is rumoured to be a target of United’s, but is set to snub interest from Old Trafford after the club hierarchy overlooked his former boss Mauricio Pochettino and have seemingly opted for Ten Hag instead. Kane and Pochettino enjoyed five years together at Spurs before the Argentine’s dismissal in late 2019.