On July 8, the official Manchester United website confirmed the departure of De Gea, the sole remaining player who had won the Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson. This move marks the beginning of a new era under Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
While acknowledging De Gea's talent and experience, the Dutch manager understands the need to make difficult decisions in order to improve the team's performance. De Gea, although highly accomplished, is viewed as somewhat outdated in the context of modern football. As a replacement, Manchester United is on the verge of completing the acquisition of Andre Onana from Inter Milan.
Drawing from the lesson of Joe Hart's departure, when Pep Guardiola took charge of Manchester City in the summer of 2016, Hart, who had been instrumental in City's previous successes, was quickly replaced by Willy Caballero in Guardiola's first Premier League game. Subsequently, Hart was loaned out to Turin and eventually relinquished his position to Claudio Bravo, who had just arrived from Barcelona.
By making the decision to part ways with De Gea, Ten Hag aims to reshape the squad and introduce a fresh approach that aligns with his vision for Manchester United's future success.
