Ryan Gravenberch's verdict on Man United is great news for Erik ten Hag amid transfer interest

“I’m glad I had him as a trainer,” said Ryan Gravenberch upon Erik ten Hag’s switch to Manchester United last year.

The midfielder was paying the compliment as he was embarking on pastures new too, the Dutchman preparing for life in Germany with Bayern Munich. There initially had been rumours he was also headed to Old Trafford.

Lisandro Martinez and Antony made that trip but Gravenberch had already shaken hands elsewhere. “I already had such a good feeling at Bayern and I had given my word," he explained.

The 21-year-old has not had the impact in Bavaria he would have hoped for. He has made just three Bundesliga starts since his move over a year ago. Even a change of manager did not help as Julian Nagelsmann was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.

READ MORE: United still exploring midfield targets ahead of transfer deadline

It led to a very candid assessment of his maiden year this summer: “I expected to play more minutes than I did. I thought I would get some more chances.

“It’s about just wanting to play, that’s the most important thing at my age. I hope this can happen at Bayern Munich, otherwise we’ll just have to look further.

“I told everyone that I don’t want another year like that. Of course you can’t always be in the starting XI, but you can still play regularly, you can get a lot of minutes.”

That may have grabbed the attention of United and Ten Hag, who nurtured him through to senior football at Ajax. He had told Gravenberch to be patient and be as reliable as ever in the Dutch club's youth team with the promise that this would earn him a place in the senior side.

He duly was and became the latest academy product to successfully break into the first team, soon becoming a regular. Now, Ten Hag is searching for a