Ten Hag reviews United’s summer window

Erik you’ve spoke quite a lot about the importance of a player having the right attitude and mentality. Does Antony fit the bill in that respect, from your experience of working with him?

“It’s difficult to talk about a player we didn’t sign but we announced we wanted to do it. But definitely he’s one with the right fighting spirit.”

In terms of his position, he played a lot on the right in your time at Ajax. Is that where you primarily see him playing for United, if he does get over the line?

“If it happens, yes.”

Erik just a little bit more on the transfer spend. I think it’s more than people originally thought would be spent by Manchester United this summer. Is that a sign of the club backing you particularly or do you think it’s a case of the market being what it is?

“I already gave an answer on that question. If you want to compete at the top then you don’t have a choice. Obviously because I said all the Premier League clubs have spent this kind of money so if you want to play for the first four positions, you have to do it. I think we have the ambition, especially in the long-term, to play for trophies. So we had to do it, I think.”

Just on the right-back situation, which has been spoken about a little this week. Has Diogo Dalot given you enough cause to have faith in him going forward or is that something you might look at, given Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been talked about as a potential target for Crystal Palace and Dest has been linked with Manchester United?

“I think Aaron has shown in the past that he’s a really constant factor in Manchester United so I have all the choice in that. I haven’t seen him that much because over a period he was injured in pre-season, so I didn’t have the chance to see him. What I noticed from the past is that he’s a good option. The last couple of weeks he’s training, so now we have to compete for the right full-back position, clear.”