Erik ten Hag is ‘targeting TWO of his former Man United stars’ as ex-boss prepares for first transfer window at Bayer Leverkusen

Erik ten Hag has turned his attention to two of his former Manchester United stars as he prepares to oversee his first transfer window as Bayer Leverkusen manager.

The Dutchman, 55, was appointed as Leverkusen’s head coach earlier in the week – shortly after it was confirmed that Xabi Alonso would be heading to Real Madrid. 

It marks the first managerial role for Ten Hag since his unceremonious exit from Man United – which saw him sacked and replaced by Ruben Amorim earlier in the season. 

Now, however, Ten Hag’s attention will turn to the upcoming summer window as he looks to mould the Leverkusen squad into one of his liking. 

Reports in Germany claim that the Dutchman has identified two of his former Man United stars as players who could come in and replace Florian Wirtz. 

Kicker claim that both Antony and Alejandro Garnacho are being discussed internally at Leverkusen – with a move for the Brazilian more likely. 

Erik ten Hag is reportedly targeting two of his former Man United stars in the transfer window

Bayer Leverkusen are keeping tabs on Alejandro Garnacho amid uncertainty over his future

Antony has spent the second half of the season on loan with Spanish side Real Betis and has rediscovered his best form – having scored nine and assisted five. 

Despite his impressive form, question marks over his future at Old Trafford remain and the reports claim Leverkusen would be interested, should he decide to leave. 

Garnacho, meanwhile, looks set to leave United this summer and was brutally warned by Amorim that he needs to ‘pray’ he can find a new club in front of team-mates.

Tensions skyrocketed after the Argentina international hit out at his boss for benching him in their Europa League final defeat to Tottenham last Wednesday.

United went on to lose 1-0, with Garnacho only featuring for 20 minutes from bench and the 20-year-old failed to hide his frustration with Amorim as he admitted it had been a ‘s***’ season for the club.

Garnacho was omitted from United’s squad for their final game of the season against Villa and it would represent a remarkable u-turn if he were to remain at the club.

His partner appeared to confirm his departure with a cryptic two-word message to fans on social media just hours before the Villa encounter.

She posted a picture of a baby-sized United kit alongside the words ‘last match’, accompanied by a tearful emoji and a heart on Instagram.

Winger Antony has rediscovered his best form since joining Real Betis on a loan deal

Ten Hag was the manager who brought Antony to United, from Dutch side Ajax, back in 2022

Garnacho (left) has fallen out of favour with current Man United boss Ruben Amorim (centre)

A sale would represent pure profit under financial fair play rules, as the winger came through the club’s academy system.

The Red Devil’s jetted off to Asia just hours after beating Aston Villa 2-0 on the Premier League’s final day. 

But their controversial tour got off to the worst possible start, with furious fans lambasting the players for an ’embarassing’ defeat at the 84,00 seater Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

Following the loss, Amorim said: ‘I always feel guilty of the performance of the team since I am here in the first game. 

‘I feel guilty, then the boos from the fans, maybe it is something we need because every game that we lost in the Premier League, they were always there.