Ten Hag was pressed on why this has not occurred. “That is a difficult answer,” he replied. “When you have one hour then [I can]. It’s really complicated but we are really happy with what we have done until now. That was the positive point from last week and before. Tyrell Malacia did very well, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martínez both did very well in the game against Brighton. We are very happy with that.
Anthony Martial’s hamstring problem rules him out of the trip to Brentford. Cristiano Ronaldo is fit to start, however, following a truncated pre-season. Ten Hag was asked how he handles a player who wants to leave the club. “That is your assumption [that Ronaldo wishes to depart],” he said. “That is not what he is telling me.
Marcus Rashford was wanted by Paris Saint-Germain but the French club have apparently withdrawn their interest. When asked if he had spoken to the forward about the situation, Ten Hag said: “Not yet but he knows I love him, he knows I want him to be here so I will tell him that again.”