Manchester United need new recruits to fix underlying issue in Erik ten Hag’s plans

Ten Hag’s throwaway phrase of ‘old soldiers’ in the United ranks contained a deeper truth: too many have reached their footballing end at Old Trafford

Erik ten Hag sounded unusually poetic. “When old soldiers die, new ones have to come in,” he said, explaining the teenager Willy Kambwala’s selection against Liverpool. Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane were Manchester United’s latest defensive casualties but news of their deaths came as a surprise, perhaps to the players themselves.

Ten Hag nevertheless conferred a nobility on two ageing warriors. When they are fit to take the battlefield, they have been overworked: such is the fate of a central defender in a team who play games of permanent transitions, where the opposition have 20 shots on a good day, 30 on many another. Perhaps Ten Hag’s tactics leave them looking cannon fodder.

But as Ten Hag talked about the 27 different defences he has fielded, whether by injury or choice, so far this season, his militaristic phrase hinted at a reason. Four of United’s five main central defenders are old soldiers. And if it is then illogical that the man who has made the fewest appearances of the quintet, Lisandro Martinez, is the youngest – and also, in style or play, the most warrior-like, compared to the sleeker Varane or the more cerebral Evans – there is an underlying issue.

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Injuries do not only afflict the old – the 24-year-old Tyrell Malacia is yet to make an appearance this season whereas the 36-year-old Evans has chalked up 25 – but the breathtaking pace of the Premier League means there are times when it seems the wrong division for the aged. United, with their end-to-end games, are the wrong team for them: if Casemiro seemed a soldier for much of his debut campaign in Manchester, now he just looks old.

And United have acquired or kept too many old soldiers in recent years. Ten Hag likes to use the youth of some of his charges to support his case for continued employment and if Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo’s performances readily support his argument, he identified a third in Kambwala. “Another signal and message for the future of Manchester United,” he said.

The recent past has seen a £100m outlay on Casemiro and Varane, bought to spend their footballing dotage at Old Trafford. Like Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, who at least was a free transfer, lacks the mobility required in midfield. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof were acquired with their best years ahead of them but, at 31 and almost 30 respectively, they form other reasons why a defensive overhaul may be necessary this summer.

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Go back to 2013 and Sir Alex Ferguson bequeathed David Moyes the Old Trafford greats Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, but perhaps only the left-back was near his best. Later, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Juan Mata and David de Gea all arguably stayed too long.

Meanwhile, United have bought too many veterans, attracted by the spoils they had won in combat: Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Nemanja Matic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic delivered mixed returns but, before too long, a sense his fight had been fought. There has been a short-termism to too many signings.

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United’s youth policy means they often figure mid-table in a league ranked by average age but sometimes their teams can be an uneasy blend of the young and the old with too few players in their prime. Ten Hag may regard their age profile as less than ideal: he took an Ajax side who were one of the youngest in the Champions League in 2018-19 to the semi-finals.

Now there has been something heroic about Evans, his commitment unwavering even as his body can fail him. Yet if United need battle-hardened performers, a gameplan based on dynamism means soldiers actually need to be able to cover most of the battlefield.

They can look at a Liverpool team who have failed to beat them this season but who have otherwise had a far superior campaign. Jurgen Klopp pensioned off a host of his veteran generals last summer – first James Milner and Roberto Firmino, then Jordan Henderson and Fabinho – and a newer, younger battalion are more formidable. The three title contenders contain players of different ages but with few feeling as likely to fall on the field of conflict as some of Old Trafford’s old soldiers.

The United fallen, Evans and Varane, excelled as they held Liverpool at bay at Anfield in December. They remain the only side to stop Klopp’s team from scoring this season. Ten Hag has not been finished off by his results against Liverpool over the last few months but he may have suffered a fatal wound anyway. Yet even if his was a throwaway phrase, it contained a deeper truth: too many have reached their footballing end with United. They can need newer recruits.