Erik ten Hag spent four succesful years with Ajax before joining Manchester United Ten Hag managed Ajax for four years between 2018 and 2022, winning three Eredivisie titles before leaving to join Man United. He has not been tempted by a reunion with the Amsterdam side, though, due to insufficient basis for a successful collaboration in the short term. This follows the resignation of the club's technical director Alex Kroes, who departed alongside Heitinga.
Now, let's talk central defenders. Those likely to dominate transfer talk heading in 2026 are the big three potential Bosman free transfers in the shape of Marc Guehi, Ibrahima Konate, and Dayot Upamecano. But there are others we need to look at including Edmond Tapsoba , who was so close to joining Tottenham Hotspur when they were chasing him and Micky van de Ven, but they opted for the Dutchman.
Liverpool's 116million move for Florian Wirtz was one of the statement signings of the summer transfer window, as the Reds saw off rivals such as Bayern Munich and Manchester City to land the German playmaker. The move was briefly a British transfer record and although the 22-year-old - who was ranked by FourFourTwo at No.1 in a list of the game's best attacking midfielders - is yet to open his Liverpool goalscoring account, the club will be confident he will be a key player for years to come.
FC Bayern beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 on Saturday evening to extend their European record of victories to 15 matches at the start of the season. Serge Gnabry and Nicolas Jackson scored before Loïc Badé put through his own goal to hand Bayern a comfortable lead at half-time. With no goals to come after the restart, Bayern claimed another three points.
There were many top-class performances in this week's Champions League matches, but the one Nuno Mendes produced in Paris Saint-Germain's demolition of Bayer in Leverkusen surely stands out. Quite apart from every other aspect of his game, the left-back assisted Willian Pacho for the opening goal, and got on the scoresheet himself.
