Erik ten Hag 'denied' £21m transfer wish as Man United told to make Bruno Fernandes change

The first international break of the season is over and for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United there is a lot of work to do.
The Red Devils fell to a 3-0 home defeat against rivals Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. It was the team’s second defeat in a row, following the late 2-1 loss vs Brighton and Hove Albion eight days earlier.
It means that United have won just one of their opening three games. The break does however give Ten Hag the chance to step back and assess ahead of the Premier League clash vs Southampton in just under two weeks.

That game could see new signing Manuel Ugarte make his debut after a deadline-day move from Paris Saint Germain. He is however now on international duty with Uruguay. p:nth-of-type(6)","type":"performPlaceholder","relativePos":"after"}" data-placeholder-placeholder="" data-response-start="4649.899999976158" data-type="placeholder" style="white-space: normal; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(20, 20, 20); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">While we wait for the return of domestic football, MEN Sport have taken a look at a couple of the stories doing the rounds. We’ve also given our own thoughts on the situation.Ten Hag told to make major Fernandes decisionFormer Premier League manager Alan Pardew has suggested taking the Manchester United captaincy off Bruno Fernandes will help the player. The midfielder wore the captain’s armband for the 3-0 defeat against Liverpool, but is yet to score or assist in his three Premier League games yet this season.
Pardew has suggested that the pressure of being captain could be impacting on his performances.
“You've got your skipper out there, you've got a technical skipper,” he told TalkSPORT. “When you've got a technician as a skipper, I think it's always dangerous because they're going to have off games.
“Even [Christian] Eriksen in his prime, [Michel] Platini in his prime, they'd have an off day. They were technical players.”
He then added: “Today, it was never Fernandes because they (United) never had the ball enough. Defensively, he's not been called upon. How can he lead the team? It's a very difficult one for him.
“I actually think it would be better for him as a footballer to take it (the captaincy) off him. I think it might free him up a bit, let him be a bit more free-minded.
“He's probably worrying about the back four, worrying about the wingers. You don't really know how to deal with it. I don't know, I think it's a hamper to him.”
MEN Sport says: Fernandes has been captain for most of the last two seasons, and making that change now will only cause more disruption at a time when United possibly need more stability in the dressing room. While Fernandes has had a frustrating season so far, it can’t be put down to the pressure of the armband given he has delivered when wearing it previously.
There’s also not a stand out candidate for the vacancy if that decision is made. Ten Hag can’t exactly return the armband to Harry Maguire after making the decision to make the change just over a year ago.Ten Hag 'denied' summer transferTen Hag ‘wanted’ midfielder Sofyan Amrabat to return to Old Trafford this season, but was overruled by Ineos, according to the Athletic’s Talk of the Devils podcast. Speaking on the podcast journalist Andy Mitten said: “Erik ten Hag wanted Amrabat for the season. And because of the chat within internally, that didn’t happen and that’s fine. This is how Manchester United are working now.”
Abrabat spent the season on loan at Old Trafford from Fiorentina, but the club decided not to take up a permanent option in the deal. He has since joined Turkish side Fenerbahce on loan.
United have instead moved for Manuel Ugarte. The midfielder completed a move from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day.