Erik ten Hag's transfer priorities mean he's gambling with Manchester United future

It is becoming increasingly likely with each week that Manchester United will not sign a defensive midfielder this summer. Lisandro Martinez can play in that position but he's naturally a centre-back. It's fair to say Erik ten Hag's transfer priorities have been somewhat surprising.

Ten Hag has signed Tyrell Malacia, 22, from Feyenoord for £12.9million, Christian Eriksen, 30, on a free transfer and Martinez, 25, is set to become his third signing for a fee of £46m. Two of those players have been signed from the Eredivisie. It's clear United have been keen to give Ten Hag what he wants and the Dutchman has turned to signing players from the league he knows the most.

Frenkie de Jong remains Ten Hag's priority this summer and he's obviously a product of the Ajax academy. The waffles and bottles of Heineken in the press room for Ten Hag's first press conference were foreshadowing the Dutch revolution at Old Trafford.

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Malacia, Eriksen, Martinez and De Jong look set to be Ten Hag's first four signings, while the United boss is also expected to sign a centre-forward. Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave the club and Anthony Martial is hardly a reliable source of goals.

It seems Ten Hag would be happy with that transfer business by the end of the summer window, but would supporters? The answer to that question is subjective, but surely most would agree that would mean United have ignored their most glaring problem once again. United are desperate for a specialist defensive midfielder and it would almost be comical if they didn't sign that player.

It has been obvious since Nemanja Matic entered the autumn of his career, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer regularly