Edwin van der Sar claims Erik ten Hag ‘is not helping’ Ajax after Lisandro Martinez and Antony deals

Edwin van der Sar has claimed Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is not helping Ajax after he acquired two players from his former club.

The Old Trafford side were busy in the transfer market this summer having splashed over £200million in a bid to improve on their poor campaign last season.   

Ten Hag raided Ajax as Lisandro Martinez joined United for £51m and he was followed by Brazilian winger Anthony, who joined signed for £85.5m from the Dutch side. 

Edwin van der Sar has claimed Man United boss Erik ten Hag is not helping his former club 

Former Red Devils goalkeeper Van der Sar, currently Ajax’s chief executive officer, has spoken about the summer dealings.

Speaking to BT Sport, he said: ‘The fate that Ajax has, we always develop and scout very good players and sometimes young players, if they want to take the next step, they always go to England, Germany, Spain, that kind of thing.

‘So, of course we’re losing Erik [ten Hag]. We knew we were losing already a great manager. And yeah, he’s not really helping us. 

‘Of course, he took two of our best players also [Antony and Martinez], we got a good transfer fee for them. And of course, that is the fate a little bit that Ajax has.’ 

Lisandro Martinez has had a flying start, winning the club’s player of the month award

Anthony had a debut to remember after scoring the opening goal in the 3-1 win over Arsenal

Martinez has had a flying start to life at United, winning the club’s player of the month award following a number of impressive performances at the heart of the defence. 

Similarly, Anthony had a debut to remember after scoring the opening goal in the 3-1 win over Arsenal last weekend. 

Ten Hag’s side are currently on a four-game winning steak in the Premier League and sit fifth in the table after a poor start which saw them lose their opening two games against Brighton and Brentford.  

Meanwhile, Van der Sar signed a new deal on Friday to stay as Ajax’s CEO until 2025. The 51-year-old has been in the role since 2016 and had just over year remaining on his existing contract.