Three Manchester United transfers could complete rapid transformation of Erik ten Hag's team

On the day Erik ten Hag's Manchester United reign threatened to derail before it even pulled out of the station, almost half of the team he had picked were 29 or over. The sweltering west London heat on the day they were beaten 4-0 by Brentford didn't help some of the more experienced players.

David de Gea (31), Harry Maguire (29), Fred (29), Christian Eriksen (30) and Cristiano Ronaldo (37) all started at Brentford back in August 2022. Another 29-year-old, Raphael Varane, came off the bench. Two years on only two of those six players are still at the club and if Maguire and Eriksen survive the summer cull, they won't be starters next season.

It was a feature of Ten Hag's first season that the squad had plenty of experience. That team selected at Brentford was before the arrival of 30-year-old Casemiro. January bought the temporary additions of 28-year-old Marcel Sabitzer and 30-year-old Wout Weghorst.

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This was a team with an ageing profile and it was one of the considerations given as to whether to sign Harry Kane that summer. Kane would have been a guarantee of goals but he would also have been another 30-year-old to add to the ranks. It would have created a spine with only a few years left at the top.

You only need to see the drop-off in Casemiro's game last season to appreciate how quickly that can happen. Two years into a four-year contract, United are willing to let the Brazilian midfielder leave this summer.

Gradually, Ten Hag has reduced the average age of this squad and, in particular, the age of his regular starters. Last summer he spent significant fees on a