July 6th 2024.
According to Emiliano Martinez's agent, Aston Villa's star goalkeeper was almost signed by Manchester United last summer. However, United's pursuit was thwarted by none other than their current manager, Erik ten Hag, who still holds the power to veto transfers at the club.
After David de Gea's departure, United were in need of a new goalkeeper and ended up signing Andre Onana from Inter Milan for a whopping £47million. They also brought in Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahçe to serve as Onana's backup. Interestingly, Onana and ten Hag had previously worked together at Ajax, where the former had excelled in the 2023 Champions League final against Manchester City.
But Onana wasn't the only option on United's radar. David Raya, who later signed for Arsenal, and Diogo Costa from Porto were also considered. However, Martinez's agent, Gonzalo Goni, has now revealed that United were particularly interested in bringing his client to Manchester. In fact, they were very close to agreeing on a deal before ten Hag intervened and pushed for the signing of Onana instead. Goni also claims that other key figures at the club preferred Martinez over Onana.
Despite the criticism surrounding his signings, ten Hag signed a one-year contract extension with United this week, keeping him at the club until 2026. He also maintains his transfer veto, which was part of his initial agreement with the club when he joined from Ajax in 2022.
Currently, United are in talks with Bayern Munich to sign another former Ajax player, Matthijs de Ligt, for around £40million. It seems ten Hag's connections with Ajax are coming in handy for United's transfer dealings.
However, ten Hag's signings have been under scrutiny since his arrival at the club. While some, like Lisandro Martinez, have become key players, others like Antony, Casemiro, and Mason Mount have failed to impress. Despite this, United seem to have faith in ten Hag's abilities and are looking forward to working with him for the next few years.
Overall, it seems United's pursuit of Emiliano Martinez was unsuccessful due to ten Hag's intervention, but they have since moved on and are currently focused on signing Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich. Ten Hag's transfer veto and connections with Ajax continue to play a significant role in United's transfer dealings.
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