Erik ten Hag and Sir Jim Ratcliffe might collide over Manchester United transfer targets

The summer transfer window rumour mill has started and Matthijs de Ligt and Brian Brobbey are the early names being linked with a move to Manchester United.

Those players tick all the boxes you would expect of a player linked with a move to Old Trafford: they are Dutch, they have both played in the Eredivisie and, crucially, they have worked with Erik ten Hag during his time at Ajax.

Ten Hag has signed 10 players on permanent deals at United and six of those have Eredivisie pedigree, a league which is not good enough to be included in Europe's top five. Only Casemiro, Rasmus Hojlund, Jonny Evans and Altay Bayindir have not played in Holland, although that list would have been shorter if Frenkie de Jong had been signed.

ALSO READ: I worked for Ratcliffe and Ineos - he should learn from mistakes

ALSO READ: United explain Berrada appointment

Casemiro was the alternative to De Jong and football director John Murtough was responsible for that deal after creating a contingency plan for the priority target falling through.

The Brazilian was outstanding last season, but 12 months on he's looked like the player most feared he would be, which has left fans wondering whether it's best to sell him.

Kees Vos, the co-founder of SEG, represents Ten Hag and he negotiated Hojlund's move to Manchester. Evans was a pragmatic signing and Bayindir was a necessary one.

The other six players signed on permanent deals, Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Mason Mount and Andre Onana, all have a history in the Eredivisie.

Although having a Dutch-heavy-influenced transfer policy is inadvisable because the demands of the Eredivisie are vastly different to those of the Premier League, that hasn't stopped United.

The