Man Utd: Ten Hag picks £59m ‘top’ target as first Leverkusen signing; second Red Devils star ‘tempting’

According to reports, new Bayer Leverkusen head coach Erik ten Hag is plotting a raid on former club Manchester United as he looks to replace Florian Wirtz.

Man Utd sacked Ten Hag following a miserable start to this season after being fortunate to keep his job following their eighth-place finish in 2023/24.

Ten Hag‘s success in cup competitions saved him last summer after the Red Devils beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup, but poor performances in the Premier League continued as the Dutchman’s position became untenable towards the end of last year.

The former Ajax boss had a break for around six months before announcing his return to management with Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen to replace Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso.

Ten Hag is facing a difficult summer as several important players are likely to follow Alonso in leaving Leverkusen, with Liverpool-bound Wirtz set to be the biggest loss.

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Wirtz will leave a huge void at Bayer Leverkusen and he will not be easy to replace, but German outlet Kicker claims they are already considering potential candidates.

Lyon standout Rayan Cherki, linked with Man City and Man Utd, is deemed an ‘unrealistic’ option, but two Red Devils stars are their other targets.

Man Utd winger Alejandro Garnacho is reportedly their ‘absolute top option’ to replace Wirtz and he could be a gettable target with the £59m star recently told to ‘find a new club’.

Leverkusen face competition for Garnacho after Chelsea and Napoli were linked with him in January, so they could be forced to look at alternatives and Antony is a ‘tempting’ option.

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The links with Antony are hardly surprising as the Brazil international was handpicked by Ten Hag ahead of his first season at Man Utd, who massively overpaid when they landed him for around £86m from Ajax.

Antony proved a major flop at Man Utd and while he has returned to form during his loan spell at Real Betis, he went missing in the Europa Conference League final defeat to Chelsea.

Still, Man Utd are expected to cut their losses on Antony this summer and they should attract offers in the region of £40m.

The report indicates that a move for Antony is more likely than for Garnacho:

‘Antony is tempting and the same applies to Garnacho, whom coach Ruben Amorim recently strongly suggested should be transferred internally.

‘The right-footer would be an absolute top option and is said to be in the very reasonable range in terms of salary. The Argentinian, who is also said to be interested in Milan and Napoli, also falls into the not yet available category.’