Man United boss Ten Hag calls Ratcliffe investment ‘positive’

Erik ten Hag has described Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment in Manchester United as a “positive” turn of events for the club, but said it had no impact on his team's players.

Ratcliffe sporting guru Sir Dave Brailsford was in the stands at Old Trafford on Tuesday as United came back from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2.

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It was their first match since the announcement that British billionaire Ratcliffe, chairman of chemical company Ineos, had agreed to a $1.3 billion deal to buy a 25% stake and take control of all the club's football affairs.

“I don’t think it had an impact on the players,” Ten Hag said after the match. “For my part, I was kept informed throughout the process, so I knew what was happening.

“We are looking to the future. I think it is positive for the club that they are stepping in. They have a lot of experience in sport at the highest level – F1, a cycling team, football clubs.

“They can only help and support us to achieve our goals. We look to the future. They want to work with us and we want to work with them.”

Brailsford, director of sport at Ineos, watched from the stands as Villa led 2-0 before half-time thanks to goals from John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker – both coming from set players.

United, however, mounted an impressive second-half comeback with two goals from Alejandro Garnacho and a winner from Rasmus Hojlund, who found the net in the Premier League for the first time since his £72m summer move from Atalanta.

“I had several discussions with him and I pointed out that you scored a lot for Denmark and you scored in the Champions League, so that demonstrated your ability. So believe in it and it will come,” said Ten Hag when asked about the attacker. . “He will score more. When attackers don't score, it's always a problem, but he has a strong character.

“He has a great personality and that’s what a striker needs and when you keep investing the goals will come.”