Man Utd staff concerned by the influence of Erik ten Hag's agent over transfers

Manchester United staff have expressed concerns about the growing involvement of Erik ten Hag’s agent Kees Vos in transfer activity at Old Trafford.

Mail Sport can reveal that Vos’s Sport Entertainment Group have become the go-to agency in negotiating player signings and sales for United, as well as providing informal advice on the transfer market.

In another indication of the close relationship between the club and SEG, it can be disclosed that Ten Hag’s son Nigel works for the agency as an analyst.

SEG worked on player sales and signings during a busy window which saw United spend £178million on four new arrivals, with Vos a regular visitor to Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training ground. Their work included:

SEG’s growing influence has been noted by other agents unhappy at what they perceive as losing out on potential deals due to the link with Ten Hag.

Despite such complaints, SEG are a globally renowned business, with 600 athletes on their books. The Netherlands-based company have also developed close links with Manchester City, as leading Spanish agent Pere Guardiola joined the company 18 months ago, bringing with him his brother Pep as a star client.

As the leading Dutch agency, SEG were previously involved in bringing Robin van Persie, Memphis Depay and Daley Blind to United, but their involvement at the club had dried up until they orchestrated the deal that led to Ten Hag’s appointment as manager in May 2022.

Of United’s 45 intermediary transactions published by the FA between February 2022 and January 2023, which includes every contract issued by the club during that period, SEG are not listed once.

Ten Hag has previously been criticised for his tendency to focus on signing players he has already worked with. Antony and Lisandro Martinez both followed him from Ajax last year.

In addition, two of United’s main signings this summer, goalkeeper Andre Onana and Amrabat, had played for Ten Hag at Ajax and Utrecht respectively.

A source at SEG insisted that Vos had no personal involvement in negotiations with West Ham over Maguire. They also pointed out that as a global company they were involved in more than 300 transfers this summer, with the United transactions representing about one per cent of their business.

United sources said that it is not unusual for top clubs to have strong links with particular agencies due to personal relationships formed by their key personnel, which often brings advantages in the transfer market.

While acknowledging that the close relationship with Vos had become a talking point, United insisted that their senior leadership are comfortable with the position.

A spokesperson for Manchester United declined to comment.