Daley Blind acknowledged that he had considered calling Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag regarding a January transfer.
After both the player and the club decided to end the contract, Blind left Ajax at the beginning of the year. The 33-year-old did, in fact, become a free agent before the January transfer window, and he ultimately signed with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
The defender, who spent several seasons at Ajax playing under Ten Hag, revealed he had been tempted to hire the Dutchman in January.
However, Blind, who played at Old Trafford for four years between 2014 and 2018, acknowledged that he was probably not what United needed at the time.
Blind’s Old Trafford return?
Speaking to the MAN UTD podcast, Blind claimed he had been tempted to offer his services to his former employers last season.
After admitting he had considered an Old Trafford return, the Dutchman said: “No [I didn’t call Ten Hag]. To be honest, he has the same agent as me, so the connection is not that far away.
“But yeah, he did not really need me at that moment. He [had] already bought some players in.
I don’t blame Lisandro] Martinez for being in the same situation as him. I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with him. He taught me a lot of things.
Following Ten Hag from Ajax to United, Lisandro Martinez was criticized during his first few months at Old Trafford. After disappointing showings against Brighton and Brentford at the start of the previous season, the Argentina international’s height in particular came under scrutiny.
However, Blind commended his old teammate for eventually adjusting to the Premier League’s requirements.
Blind said: “I think, at the moment I started playing centre back, there were some critical notes about my height or my, how you say it, I don’t look like [Nemanja] Vidic for example.
“I think, in England, there is like this image of a centre-back and that is how it should be done and how a player in the centre should look like, the way he is, and I think, nowadays, you can fill it in different ways.”Martinez, he is a great centre-back. He is so aggressive, he’s really good with his feet. He’s really good at tackling. You cannot write him off just because he’s maybe not the height you expect him to be. But I think he showed himself directly that he is capable of everything in the Premier League.”
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