Ten Hag asks Sir Jim Ratcliffe if he can play as a No 6

Can't be worse than McFred

Erik Ten Hag is hoping prospective Manchester United buyer Sir Jim Radcliffe can also operate in the No6 position on the pitch after missing out on top target Frenkie de Jong.

The United boss identified compatriot De Jong as the defensive midfielder his team desperately needed. However, the lure of Europa League football and the Trafford Centre was not enough to convince the 25-year-old to leave Barcelona.

Erik Ten Hag

Whether director of football John Murtough can juggle the complexities of negotiating a deal with Madrid for the services of Casemiro while simultaneously renewing his car insurance remains to be seen, and so, Ten Hag has pinned his hopes on Ineos CEO Radcliffe.

‘He’s about the only man we haven’t been linked with during this transfer window’, Ten Hag told Paddy Power News.

‘He can partner Scott in the middle of the park. McRatcliffe has a nice ring to it’.

‘At 69, his best years are still ahead of him. And believe it or not, he’s not even the oldest person Murtough’s tried to sign this summer’.

Meanwhile, Manchester-born Ratcliffe is relishing the opportunity to wear the No6 shirt recently vacated by Instagrammer Paul Pogba.

‘It’s an honour to follow in Paul’s footsteps’, the billionaire told Paddy Power News while showing off his brand new mohawk hairdo.

‘He was a mainstay in the United treatment room for six seasons and scored some amazing goals in training’.

‘I’m very much looking forward to being booed by the United fans on my debut’, he added before executing the dab.

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However, Ten Hag’s pleas to sign the businessman appear to be falling on deaf ears with United bosses Murtough and Richard Arnold both questioning his suitability.

‘Why would we want to sign Sir Jim Ratcliffe? I checked his Wiki page and he’s never even played for Stoke?’, said Arnold while watching the Premier League Years on Sky.

‘Bojan Krkić, Charlie Adam, Jonathan Walters – now those are players’.

*Paddy Power’s breaking sports coverage is 100% fake news*

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