After a virtually flawless debut season in charge of Manchester United, Eric ten Haag is frustrated. He didn’t sign the players he wanted, and he didn’t get rid of them.

Heading into the new season, one of his biggest regrets is losing Kim Min-jae to German giants Bayern Munich. United were the first to contact Kim after the World Cup in Qatar last December and reached a personal agreement with the player. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Kim would be joining United, but suddenly his destination changed to Munich. The Bavarians made an irresistible offer. According to multiple British and German media outlets, Kim will earn an after-tax salary of €12 million (approximately $17 billion). United reportedly negotiated for less than 10 million won per year.

Since losing Kim to Munich, Van Gaal has been desperate to add more center backs, but to no avail. To the existing Rafael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, and Harry Maguire, he added 35-year-old veteran Jonny Evans from Leicester City. Eric Bailly, long deemed surplus to requirements, left for Turkkiye Beşiktaş.

United suffered another humiliation. With Baran on the injured list, United sent an offer to Ramos just before the transfer window closed. The offer was for £73,000 a week, but after 18 years, Ramos returned to his hometown club Sevilla, the team he played for when he made his professional debut. On May 5, British media outlet The Sun reported that “Manchester United have made a bid for Sergio Ramos, 37, who is a free agent after leaving French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), but it has been rejected at the speed of light”. Ramos wasn’t even told what United’s contract was. He had no intention of joining one of the best clubs in the world. What a humiliation for United.

Here’s why Man Utd couldn’t get rid of Maguire. Despite agreeing a £30 million transfer fee with West Ham, they were unable to resolve their differences with the player. Maguire had the audacity to demand that United make up the difference, as his salary would be reduced if he moved to 바카라 West Ham. He insisted that he had no choice but to stay at United. Later, West Ham tried to ease United’s burden by offering Maguire a higher weekly wage, but no further progress was made. He was desperate. On April 4, Mourinho substituted Maguire for Martinez in the 22nd minute at Arsenal, and with the score tied 1-1, United conceded back-to-back goals in stoppage time from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus to lose 3-1. United are still in 11th place after just four games. They need to turn things around, and their defensive woes have put them in a precarious position heading into their Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Nov. 21.