“He hasn’t learned anything from these two years” - Paolo Di Canio fires shots at Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag over €50m transfer decision

Former Juventus forward Paolo Di Canio has lashed out at the transfer policy implemented by Dutch tactician Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. The Italian claimed that the 54-year-old 'hasn't learned anything' from the errant transfers made by the club upon his request in the past two years.

United signed five new players in the summer for a whopping combined fee of approximately £180 million. They brought in 18-year-old defensive sensation Leny Yoro (from Lille), the Bayern Munich duo of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, enforcer Manuel Ugarte (from PSG) and forward Joshua Zirkzee (from Bologna).

As it stands, the signings have not worked out well for the Red Devils. Yoro has undergone surgery after suffering a foot injury in pre-season and is expected to be out until the end of October. Ugarte and De Ligt have looked shaky in their first few appearances, and Zirkzee has scored just one goal in eight appearances.

Mazraoui has probably been the best of the bunch, with decent offensive and defensive contributions (one assist in eight appearances)

Despite the big expenditure, Manchester United find themselves in 12th place in the Premier League table with just two wins in six games. Ten Hag also finds himself staring down the barrel of a potential sacking despite winning a trophy in both seasons in charge (the EFL Cup in 2022-23 and the FA Cup in 2023-24).

Di Canio laid into Ten Hag's transfer policy, saying (via Football365):

"The truth is that Ten Hag doesn't like British players, he doesn't buy any British players. Last year, he bought Hojlund. This year, Zirkzee, who has a physicality that goes well in Italy. Tottenham instead bought Solanke who is a good player, nothing transcendental but he's a good player."

"I'm sorry to see Ten Hag in great difficulty, but he hasn't learned anything from these two years. When they concede a goal, they don't react, no one raises their head, no one talks to each other," Di Canio added.

In Ten Hag's tenure, Manchester United have signed just two British players - Mason Mount (reported £55 million fee from Chelsea) and Jonny Evans (free transfer).

Paolo Di Canio praises Manchester United's midfield signing, claims he is in wrong environment

Paolo Di Canio praised new Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte, claiming that he was in the wrong environment at Old Trafford.

The Uruguayan enforcer enjoyed a stellar two-year spell at Sporting CP before moving to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the summer of 2023. He helped the Parisians win Ligue 1 and Coupe de France and reach the UCL semi-finals, making 37 appearances across all competitions.

However, he has struggled to find his footing at Old Trafford thus far. Speaking about his ability and noting that United isn't the right place for him, Di Canio said (via Football365):

"How can you sell [Scott] McTominay for €30m to get Ugarte for €50m [around £42m]? Ugarte is used to Lisbon, he played two excellent years at Sporting, but the Premier League is another thing."

"Today in Manchester it was 10°C, it’s been raining for 10 days, in Lisbon it’s 25°C. Last year, he was in Paris, he's a composed player, who plays a lot of positional football," Di Canio asserted.

Up next, Manchester United travel to Portugal to take on Porto in the second game of their 2024-25 UEFA Europa League campaign.