Erik Ten Hag’s Brutal Pre-Season Plans For Man United Players
Erik ten Hag will put the Manchester United players through a grueling training camp upon their return to the club for pre-season, with staff dubbing it Hell Week, according to a new report from The Sun.
The Manchester United manager will look to ensure that they have a better start than last season when they lost their opening game at Old Trafford to Brighton before being embarrassed in a 4-0 defeat away to Brentford.
The Dutchman will hope that this SAS-style boot camp can provide the side the requirements to make a flying start to the season. The former Ajax manager is looking to make an assault on the title this season and will ensure that the players are fit enough to meet his demands.
Manchester United’s pre-season plans
This week, staff at the club’s training base Carrington have been given a list of instructions to ensure that everything is ready for the return of the squad in early July. It is understood that Ten Hag plans four days of double sessions with a strong emphasis being placed on building the stamina across the entirety of the squad.
In these lists of demands, it is understood that Ten Hag wants the pitches at Carrington to be ready for the 3rd of July for the players that have not been on international duty, in order to complete their fitness tests.
A United source has reportedly told The Sun: “Last summer, Erik had players doing press-ups and other fitness forfeits to try and build spirit.
“This time it sounds like some might actually have their spirits broken!”
The 20-time champions of England have yet to make any summer signings with rumours swirling that the club are now targeting Brighton’s Moises Caicedo after a third bid for Mason Mount was rejected by Chelsea.
The club will continue to pursue targets and hopefully acquire them before pre-season begins to allow them to undergo the gruelling training camp planned by Ten Hag.
Rumoured targets also include Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, and Rasmus Højlund.
These targets will look to strengthen the problem areas for the side as they look to upgrade from David de Gea in goal and solve their problems in front of goal by signing the 20-year-old Atalanta player.
However, their attempts to solve their defensive fragility in signing Kim Min-jae from Italian champions Napoli looks to have been hijacked by the Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. The need to bring in defensive reinforcements is urgent as Eric Baily looks set to depart, Lisandro Martinez is still undergoing rehabilitation, and club captain Harry Maguire is also deemed surplus to requirements.
Manchester United could target Monaco’s Axel Disasi, Benfica’s Antonio Silva, or Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni. Every player would be a fantastic signing for the club and would improve their defensive situation, with Ten Hag aiming to sign them before pre-season to ensure he has the maximum amount of time to work with them and for them to be fit enough when the season begins.
