Manchester United secured the signing of free agent Christian Eriksen beating off competition from Brentford. Ordinarily, United don’t expect to compete with a club like Brentford for a signing, but it really was up in the air where he would ultimately end up. Eriksen enjoyed a productive comeback to the Premier League with Brentford last season and so it genuinely was a consideration to go back there. Ultimately, the allure of Manchester United, Ten Hag's project, and previous experience with the manager's inner workings (i.e., he was allowed to train with Ajax after his departure from Inter due to his heart condition) possibly swayed Eriksen's mind. In my opinion, this transfer was an absolute no-brainer. Firstly, Eriksen was free and you typically don’t find a player of that calibre available. Secondly, Bruno has long been United's only creative outlet, the only player good enough to occupy the 10. This now changes with Eriksen being a capable deputy and even potent...
Tyrell Malacia was signed from Dutch club Feyenoord for £15M and became Erik Ten Hag's 1st signing. Many were annoyed by this move because it didn’t really address a problem position or an area where there was a significant need. This was particularly compounded by the fact that United had one of their worst ever seasons and there were more pressing needs and positions that required replacing. At the time Malacia was signed, the club already had Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, and Brandon Williams as left back options. While it is obvious that Malacia is better than the latter two, it remains to be seen whether he can replace Luke Shaw. At the surface, this could be viewed as a depth signing. However, we are in dire need of upgrading the first team. After watching preseason and understanding a little bit more of Malacia's game, it became apparent that he might not be that bad a signing. Ten Hag was a known admirer of Malacia after his dominant performance against Ajax last season. Part...