Erik ten Hag advised Amourricho van Axel Dongen to snub interest from Man Utd to stay at Ajax while he was still head coach at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils are having a terrible season in the Premier League with Ten Hag sacked at the end of October and replaced by Ruben Amorim in November.
Man Utd have been even worse under Amorim with the current squad struggling to get to grips with his style of play, tactics and philosophy.
Ten Hag had a reputation of bringing in players from the Netherlands at Man Utd or players who had links to Eredivisie side Ajax, who he managed before the Red Devils.
The former Man Utd boss signed Andre Onana, Matthijs De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Antony and Noussair Mazraoui, who all played for him at Ajax.
Netherlands internationals Joshua Zirkzee and Tyrell Malacia were also signed by Ten Hag and there were rumours throughout his tenure that he wanted to sign another compatriot in the form of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
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And Ajax youngster Van Axel Dongen, who was on the edge of free agency towards the end of the 2022/23 season, has revealed that Ten Hag called him while manager of Man Utd to speak to him about interest from the Red Devils.
Van Axel Dongen told Ziggo Sport: “That was the manager (Ten Hag) who had brought me to the first team. Of course he heard about the situation. He called me and I was in the cinema. I suddenly see a missed call from Ten Hag. I think: why is he calling me? Then we spoke and I explained the situation to him.”
Before Van Axel Dongen revealed that Ten Hag advised him to snub Man Utd and stay at Ajax, he added: “He told me honestly, and I appreciate that from him, I worked with you, but I advise you to stay at Ajax. That’s where you can develop yourself best. He said: ‘if you leave, I want you to come to me.’ That’s what he said. Those were his own words.”
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Ten Hag aimed a dig at his former players in his first interview since being sacked by the Old Trafford hierarchy, claiming the current generation of playing staff “find it difficult to deal with criticism”.
The former Man Utd boss said: “This generation usually find it difficult to deal with criticism. Criticism really gets to them.
“The generation that I grew up in had much thicker skin. You could be much more direct.
“I was approached much more directly. If I would do that with my current group of players I would demotivate them.
“If you do that to the current generation they find it offensive.”
