Ten Hag Reshapes Leverkusen as Amorim Begins Old Trafford Clear-Out | OneFootball

Ten Hag Clears the Decks as Old Trafford Faces Major Overhaul

Ten Hag’s Leverkusen Vision Gathers Pace

Erik ten Hag appears a man unburdened by sentiment as he reshapes his Bayer Leverkusen squad. After replacing Xabi Alonso, the Dutchman has wasted little time in shifting familiar faces. Matej Kovar is on the move again, leaving Ten Hag’s side for PSV Eindhoven in a deal worth around £3.5 million, reported by The Mirror, just two years after the goalkeeper was sold by Manchester United.

Kovar, a Czech Republic international, is set to become first-choice at PSV under Peter Bosz. Mark Flekken, newly arrived from Brentford, now holds the No.1 shirt at Leverkusen. As part of the deal, a sell-on clause has been agreed, with Lukas Hradecky and Niklas Lomb forming the rest of Ten Hag’s goalkeeping department.

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Quansah Joins but Anfield’s Raids Hit Hard

Ten Hag has also brought in young centre-back Jarell Quansah from Liverpool. However, it is Anfield doing the bigger business, with Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz both heading to Merseyside in deals worth a combined £150 million. Liverpool’s aggressive summer rebuild under Arne Slot is being felt far beyond Merseyside.

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United Exodus Under Amorim Begins

Back at Old Trafford, newly appointed boss Ruben Amorim has drawn a firm line. According to The Mirror, he has “informed five players that they do not need to report for the first day of pre-season training on Monday,” signalling the beginning of a summer clear-out. Those departing will include both headline names and squad fillers.

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Marcus Rashford is one of the most high-profile names linked with an exit, with Bayern Munich and Barcelona both monitoring developments. Aston Villa, who had the forward on loan, opted not to make the move permanent after injuries blighted the second half of his campaign.

Sancho, Garnacho and Antony Among Others Facing Exit

Alejandro Garnacho may also leave after a “row over being benched for May’s Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.” Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho was snubbed by Chelsea at £5 million and is now linked with Juventus. Antony and Tyrell Malacia could also depart after loan spells at Real Betis and PSV respectively.

The rebuild is not just underway at Leverkusen, it is accelerating. But at Old Trafford, it is more than a summer refresh. It feels like an identity being dismantled and rewritten.

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How have we ended up here? Five years ago we were being told that Rashford would be the face of the club for the next decade. Now he’s being pushed out the back door, with Bayern and Barca sniffing around. This has to be one of the most staggering squad clear-outs in recent club history.

Alejandro Garnacho? That lad should be built around, not bombed out because of one fall-out over a benching. And letting go of Sancho for £5 million? That’s daylight robbery, even if his loan spell was poor. We spent £73 million on him. Where’s the return?

Antony and Malacia leaving? Fine, that’s manageable. But when Ruben Amorim is binning half the dressing room before pre-season even starts, it tells you everything about how broken the culture has become. And now Ten Hag is over in Germany hoovering up talent, including one of our few defensive prospects in Quansah.

It’s a reset, yes, but it looks like chaos. If Amorim gets this wrong, we’ll be mid-table by Christmas and blaming injuries again. And we’ll still be talking about ‘rebuilds’ in 2026.