Erik ten Hag has expressed his perspective on Mason Greenwood after Manchester United officially announced the player’s departure following an internal inquiry into his behavior.
The announcement on Monday revealed that both Greenwood and Manchester United have arrived at a mutual agreement that the forward will be departing from Old Trafford.
This decision comes after charges against the 21-year-old, including allegations of attempted rape and assault, were dismissed in February.
When queried about Greenwood in the lead-up to Manchester United’s upcoming Premier League match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Erik ten Hag shared his thoughts.
“Look, we are not where we want to be with our team, I have a lot of work and a lot of focus on my team, so I focus on the players who are available,” he said.
“I only have statements about our performance, our squad, where we have to improve because it’s clear, we have to improve. I have to put every effort in to get the team to perform.”
Man United resume their league campaign tomorrow following their crushing 2-0 defeat at Tottenham last weekend.
And ahead of taking on Forest at Old Trafford, Ten Hag has been dealt a series of injury blows, with Mason Mount and Luke Shaw picking up injuries.
On the injury crisis, he said: “That is the situation, it’s normal, top football, you got to the limits, injuries coming up, always disappointing but you have to deal with it and construct a squad. And deal with it.”
Injury update on @LukeShaw23 ℹ️#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 25, 2023
Rasmus Hojlund is also not ready for the game against Forest, but the £72 million striker could feature soon, having been involved in team training today.
“Not for tomorrow. [He’s] near,” he said. “Today, for the first time, he came into team training so next week we expect him to do a full week of team training so he is near to the squad.”
Rasmus Højlund ❌
Erik ten Hag confirms Rasmus Højlund is not in contention to play against Nottingham Forest but came into team training at Manchester United for the first time today following injury. 🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/tOD69Wk1qO
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 25, 2023
The Dutch boss also commented on Casemiro, who has come under fire for his recent showings.
🗣️ “If you see the numbers – You will see he is fully fit. I don’t have any doubts.”
Erik ten Hag on fans saying Casemiro didn’t look fully fit against Tottenham. 🇧🇷👀 pic.twitter.com/fZAqKjsRCs
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 25, 2023
“If you see the numbers, you see he’s [Casemiro] fully fit,” he added. “I have no doubts they can do it. After 35 mins against Spurs he didn’t do it anymore and we were first across the rank of fitness.”
Ten Hag will be without several first-team players when his side face Steve Cooper’s team. How will they fare? Let us know.