Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has previously spoken about one of the hardest decisions he had to make in his career, and it could end up being useful advice for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
The Spanish tactician made the big decision to axe Joe Hart as his goalkeeper as soon as he took over as Man City manager, and he admits it wasn’t easy for him to part ways with someone who’d been such a strong performer for the club for so long.
“It was the hardest decision I’ve had to take as a manager because, in the short time we had together, he was so professional in the way he reacted,” he said in 2018.
“Normally a player thinks of himself, himself, himself. It’s not easy but Joe put himself a little bit in my position and said he understood perfectly. That’s why I appreciate a lot his behaviour and that of his agent and his people.
“I know how tough it was for the fans and for the people at the club. He was an incredible keeper and had incredible results here in the club.
“He’s part of the history here. There is no doubt how important for this club he was and is. And you will see how the people appreciate what he has done.
“This club helped to build something special with the facilities but after that there is the quality of the players in those 10 years and Joe is part of that, no doubt about it. That’s why it was not easy for me to take the decision. I always wished him the best – I said it privately and publicly.”
It surely now looks like Ten Hag needs to make a similar call with David de Gea, whose form has really nosedived in recent times.
The Red Devils surely cannot progress unless Ten Hag is brave enough to make big calls like this and address the weaknesses in his squad.
In fairness to Ten Hag, he was ruthless with his handling of the Cristiano Ronaldo situation earlier this season, so that can perhaps reassure United fans that, when the time comes, he’ll be able to replace De Gea as the club’s number one.