Erik ten Hag's perfect midfield signing wouldn't cost Manchester United a penny

Manchester United are bound to spend a lot of money this summer but they could significantly improve their midfield without shelling out a penny.

Erik ten Hag clearly knows the scale of the task he has chosen to take on. Instead of sunning himself in the Caribbean this past week celebrating a well-won Eredivisie title, he has thrown himself headfirst into his new job to get plans in motion as quickly as possible. On Sunday, he was at Selhurst Park to witness in the flesh United sealing their worst ever Premier League campaign with a fitting defeat, finishing the campaign on an embarrassing tally of just 58 points.

The job will be incredibly difficult and if Ten Hag is going to achieve any success in his first season then it will hinge upon what the club does this summer. Will the players take to a new coach's ideas and instructions or will they once again pull a hissy fit and blame everyone else but themselves? Will Cristiano Ronaldo stay? Will the captaincy dilemma be solved without any bruised egos? Most importantly, will United invest strongly and wisely in the transfer market?

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It seems ridiculous that United once again need to spend heavily in the summer considering the obscene amounts of cash they've thrown around in recent years, but bad decision making and squad building has meant that little progress has been made. United are facing an exodus this summer and it will take a lot of work to replenish what will be lost.

Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Lee Grant will all leave when their contracts expire next month and Juan Mata is likely to join them, though there could yet be a