"A very good footballer at Manchester United for Erik" - Marco van Basten urges new Red Devils manager to sign Chelsea star

Dutch football legend Marco van Basten has urged Manchester United to sign Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech. The Moroccan has previously played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax.

Ziyech, 29, joined Chelsea from Ajax back in 2020 following three successful seasons playing under Ten Hag where he helped the Dutch side win the Eredivisie title in his last campaign.

The Dutch coach too has ended his time in charge at Ajax by winning his third straight league title and will now oversee a huge overhaul at Manchester United.

Van Basten has suggested that the Red Devils target Ziyech, who isn't having the same impact he had at Ajax with Chelsea. Ten Hag was a guest on the same show as Van Basten where the AC Milan legend made the claim.

He told Ziggo Sport (via Metro):

"What comes to my mind now is that I think Ziyech who already plays in England could be a very good footballer at Manchester United for Erik."

Ten Hag responded, saying:

"Of course this was already the case at Ajax. You take that in and then you have to continue to work well with the dressing room and with people within the club. You have to analyse well and make the right choices."

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Manchester United in need of a centre-forward despite Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech's obvious talent on the wings

Hakim Ziyech arriving at Old Trafford seems unlikely

Despite Marco van Basten touting Hakim Ziyech with a move to Manchester United, the Red Devils are in need of a new centre-forward before they turn to wingers.

The Chelsea forward managed 100 appearances under Ten Hag at Ajax, scoring 35 goals and contributing 53 assists.

But United are in bigger need of a striker. The goalscoring burden at Old Trafford has fallen on Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the season.

At the age of 37 he has been in remarkable goalscoring form, having hit 18 goals in 30 Premier League appearances.

But, he cannot be expected to continuously lead the line for United, and Ten Hag has already been linked with a number of strikers.

The Express reports that Benfica striker Darwin Nunez has reportedly been the subject of a £67 million bid from United.

The prolific Uruguayan has managed 26 goals in 28 Primeira Liga appearances this season.

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Area Napoli (via Sport Witness) reports that the Red Devils are the frontrunners for Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen.

The Nigerian is another highly sought after striker, having been in fine form for the Naples side this season.

The 23-year-old has conjured up 14 goals in 26 Serie A appearances this season.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

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A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Edited by Diptanil