Erik ten Hag has lavished praise on Burnley’s Vincent Kompany as Manchester United look to reverse their current form dip when they visit Turf Moor this weekend.
Manchester United will attempt to snap a three-match losing streak when they visit winless Burnley on Saturday night.
The Red Devils were defeated 4-3 at Bayern Munich in midweek, following defeats in the Premier League against Arsenal and Brighton. Erik ten Hag’s team has already won only two of their six competitive matches this season and will be looking to change that at Turf Moor.
Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, Harry Maguire, and Sofyan Amrabat might all return from injury for Ten Hag. This would surely help United, who have five games in 15 days before the next international break, including another Champions League match. Here is the most recent Old Trafford news.
Ten Hag praises Burnley
Despite failing to win any of their first four Premier League games this season, Ten Hag praised Burnley’s style of play as Vincent Kompany’s men want to get back on track.
In reality, the Clarets’ last league victory came on the penultimate day of their Championship-winning season in 2022/23, when they defeated Cardiff 3-0. Burnley have been defeated at home by Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Tottenham since their promotion to the Premier League, while drawing 1-1 at Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Burnley were angry that they did not take all three points at The City Ground – three weeks after beating the same opponents in the Carabao Cup – as VAR ruled Lyle Foster’s second-half strike out. To make matters worse, Foster will miss the game against United after being awarded a straight red card in injury time for elbowing Ryan Yates.
When asked about the Clarets, Ten Hag remarked, “We know how intense they play football, we know their approach, I like the approach from them, the adventure, high intensity, and dynamic in their game, so we have to play our best.”
Ten Hag’s Sancho lifeline
Ten Hag has offered a lifeline for Jadon Sancho to resurrect his United career – almost three weeks since his social media outburst after being left out against Arsenal.
Sancho is still frozen out of first-team affairs in Manchester and has not featured following a 3-2 win over Forest back in August. The 23-year-old hit back at Ten Hag after the United boss claimed his absence from the squad to face Arsenal was because of his training performances.
Former Borussia Dortmund star Sancho responded and said he was being made a “scapegoat”, prompting Ten Hag to leave him out of the side to take on Brighton. Sancho was also not involved against Bayern in the Champions League and Ten Hag was asked about the winger ahead of his side’s trip to Burnley.
“It depends on him,” Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference on Friday. “For the rest, we are preparing for Burnley and that’s our focus. He will not be in the squad.”
De Gea ‘considering retirement’
According to The Guardian, former Manchester United star David de Gea may retire if he does not receive an opportunity to become a first-choice custodian at a’major’ club.
The 32-year-old has had offers from Saudi Arabia but has yet to join a club, and the Spaniard is still maintaining fit and sharp in the hopes of receiving an offer from the appropriate team. De Gea wants to play for a team that is fighting for big titles.
After 12 years at Old Trafford, De Gea left at the conclusion of his contract in June, and United replaced him with Inter Milan’s Andre Onana. According to the Guardian, De Gea was dissatisfied with the way in which he was let go when his contract ended.
De Gea will now contemplate retirement if he does not obtain the desired deal. In 545 appearances for United, the Spain international recorded 190 clean sheets and won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award only weeks before leaving.