Manchester United “seriously thought” about reuniting with Danny Welbeck during Erik ten Hag’s tenure in charge, while more light has been shed on Cristiano Ronaldo’s time at Old Trafford.

According The AthleticAlthough Ten Hag was happy with the signings of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, he always wanted an experienced Premier League striker to “share the load”. Ten Hag had been looking forward to Manchester United Sign Harry Kane in the summer of 2023, but he instead left for Bayern Munich, forcing the Dutchman to look for different options.

Towards the end of last season, as United prepared for the departure of Anthony Martial, Ten Hag recommended that the Brighton & Hove Albion star Welbeck be captured.

At Ten Hag’s request, United bosses “discussed internally” whether to sign Welbeck and were “seriously” thinking about sending him an offer.

The forward has often had good results against his former club, which only increases Ten Hag’s interest.

However, uncertainty surrounding Ten Hag’s future (plus the fact that Dan Ashworth’s move to Old Trafford was delayed) prevented United from making a bid in time. The Athletic state.

Instead, the 33-year-old signed a new contract with Brighton. Furthermore, he has added to United’s woes by being in great form this campaign, having scored six goals in just nine appearances.

Welbeck grew up in Longsight, Manchester and came through United’s academy before making 142 first-team appearances for the Red Devils. He left for Arsenal in 2014 but would probably have jumped at the chance to return.

It would have been interesting to see how Welbeck returning to United would have been received. On 13 October, Gary Neville stated that United should never have let the Englishman go. but Roy Keane refuted this claim..

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The brutal treatment that Ten Hag gave to Ronaldo

A striker who did return to United is ronaldo. While United’s 2021-22 campaign was historically poor, the Portugal icon recorded 24 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions.

But tension soon began to arise as Ronaldo was unhappy with the rotation. ten witches after the manager arrived that summer.

Ten Hag told Ronaldo to train outside the first team after he refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur in October 2022.

United players and club bosses were initially on Ten Hag’s side, according to the latest from ESPNbut then he “took the punishment too far.”

At one point, Ronaldo tried to enter the locker room to retrieve some shoes. However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was told by staff that he was not allowed in, much to his surprise.

The ‘confrontation’ was only resolved when Ronaldo asked a youth player to go get his shoes.

The report adds that several senior players felt Ten Hag’s harsh treatment of Ronaldo was “an unnecessary humiliation.”

Ronaldo conducted an explosive interview the following month in which he criticized Ten Hag and United, claiming his second spell at the club would come to an end.

The goal-scoring machine now plays for Al-Nassr and reportedly wants reunite with former United teammate Paul Pogba in Saudi Arabia.

READ MORE: Six Manchester United players who could benefit from the appointment of Rubén Amorim as the next coach

Man Utd latest: Amorim praise, big January outing

Of course, Ten Hag has since been fired, and Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim is set to replace him.

Now United have been told they are getting a “top” manager who could emulate one of the greatest managers of all time.

“He is the best coach Portugal has produced since José Mourinho.” Portuguese analyst Filipe Dias said about Amorim. “He is not at the top of Portuguese football… He is at the top.”

Reports claim that Antonio could be one of the first players to leave as United review their squad for Amorim.

Ten Hag played a crucial role in United paying a whopping £86m (€103m/$111.8m) for Antony in the summer of 2022, but never came close to justifying that price tag.

The winger has been linked with former club Ajax, Flamengo, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace. Man Utd, however, know they will have to take a “huge” financial hit by selling him in January.

How do Ten Hag and Amorim compare?