Manchester United have spent heavily under Erik ten Hag during his tenure of two and a quarter years. He has spent a whooping £616m according to Goal, and has made 20 signings in that time, with several of them being familiar players who played under him at Ajax.
The most expensive player he has signed during his Old Trafford tenure is Antony. He cost an outrageous £81.3m, although has not really had the return which United would have hoped. The Brazilian has scored just 12 goals and has five assists to his name in 86 games.
Incredibly, the player who has been a revelation for the Dutchman over the past two seasons was someone who cost nothing, Jonny Evans.
Man Utd's "crazy" signing
Bringing Evans back to Old Trafford eight years after he left for West Brom was certainly a curious move from United. A graduate from the esteemed Carrington academy, the Northern Irish stalwart initially joined the club for a short-term deal with a view of helping maintain fitness whilst finding a new club.
As it happened, that club happened to be the 13-time Premier League champions, of which Evans won three of them. The club confirmed the deal following the 2023 summer transfer window, amongst something of an injury crisis.
It is fair to say that there was a mixed response from United fans when the club confirmed that the 36-year-old had rejoined the club. Mark Goldbridge, presenter for Red Devils fan channel The United Stand, explained that it would “terrify me” if the Old Trafford side made the signing permanent, which, of course, they did.
He also took to X to call the deal “crazy”, largely blaming the Red Devils now minority owners – the Glazers – for bringing the former Northern Ireland international, who recently retired from international football, back to the club.
However, it is fair to say that Evans has been impressive during his second spell at the club, earning himself a new one-year deal and has become a player Ten Hag can rely on in crucial moments.
Evans' record under Ten Hag
Having been a part of the hugely successful United sides of the late noughties and early 2010s under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, Evans now finds himself in a far different environment. United are languishing in 14th in the Premier League having won just once.
Despite his age, which of course has some effects on his game, such as making him slower along the ground, the former Leicester City man has been superb. He has played 36 times across his second spell at the club, having initially left with 198 games under his belt.
The United academy graduate has been a player for the big occasion under Ten Hag, and although he is slower physically, he is as sharp as ever mentally. The Dutchman has relied on him in some huge games, with Evans starting away to rivals Manchester City and Liverpool. He helped to keep a clean sheet at Anfield.
However, arguably his finest hour during his second spell at Old Trafford came during the last game against Aston Villa. He was a surprise starter but put in a stellar performance, which earned him Sky Sports’ Player of the match award, to help United keep a clean sheet and get a valuable point.
Stat
Record
Touches
54
Pass accuracy
86%
Passes completed
36/42
Ground duels won
6/7
Aerial duels won
5/5
Tackles won
4/4
Clearances
3
It was that game which led United fan and social media presence Jay Motty to call the Northern Irishman “Ten Hag’s best signing”. Given he did not cost a penny, that might be a surprising claim, although he has been superb since his return to the club.
Ten Hag will be hoping the United veteran can keep up his impressive form as the Red Devils look to turn around their poor start to the season, having already left Goldbridge – and others – eating humble pie.
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