Romano reveals how many signings Man Utd want as Ten Hag divulges ‘clear transfer plan’

Man Utd are currently looking to make three more new signings as the transfer window heats up, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The Red Devils have made two signings so far this summer with Netherlands international Joshua Zirkzee arriving from Bologna, while Lenny Yoro has joined from French club Lille.

David Ornstein confirmed earlier on Friday that Man Utd have made a double bid for Bayern Munich duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, which was rejected by the Bundesliga outfit.

And Romano has confirmed a centre-back, a right-back and a defensive midfielder are the three areas Man Utd are looking to strengthen.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Man United already wanted to bring in one more centre-back in any event, and this remains the plan. Bayern want €50m guaranteed for Matthijs de Ligt, Man United insist on using add-ons, but talks continue. De Ligt is waiting for Man United, so it’s quite a clear position.

“In other areas, I’d still keep an eye out for a new midfielder and on Mazraoui, who’s also waiting for United.”

Erik ten Hag kept his job under new co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS when it looked like he could be sacked after finishing eighth in the Premier League.

Speaking about his relationship with the new co-owners, Ten Hag told Sky Sports : “They know and they’re so experienced in different groups, in different sport, arts and in business. And then they know when you are not together, you don’t achieve the success you want to.

“And we are highly ambitious, so we need to be unified and in that unity we have to fight together because we have to be the example for our players and for the team.

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“What we’ve seen is a lot of changes from Manchester United in various approaches. And one of them is recruitment. It seems to be more aggressive, more proactive, but also more in keeping with the profile of player that can actually execute your vision on the pitch.

“So you have to be there aligned and that we want to be proactive and we want to attract players who can execute our game model. And so yeah, from profiling we get the right players and that’s a daily process. It’s a continued process as well in the window, but also in between the windows. But yeah, that is an area that has to grow.”

On whether he was still keen to add a left-sided defender, Ten Hag replied: “We have left-sided defenders with Luke Shaw, Licha Martinez…”

When asked whether he had enough, Ten Hag continued: “We are always looking for having squad depth cover for all the positions as possible double, because we know we go into the season and it’s a survival of the fittest. But it needs to be the right player and finance, FFP all fits. These things we have to take into mind otherwise we can’t bring a good squad on the pitch.

“No. We have a clear plan. We know what to do. Injuries are part of the process. You can’t avoid it because top football, you go intense and it’ll happen. Then you need a squad who can cover this.”