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

Edwin van der Sar has hit out at former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, suggesting the Dutchman is not helping his former side after bringing two players to Old Trafford this summer.

The Red Devils were busy in the transfer market having splashed over £200million in a bid to improve on their poor campaign last season.   

Ten Hag who he left in May, raided Ajax as Lisandro Martinez joined United for £51m and he was followed by Brazilian winger Antony, who signed for £85.5m in the final week of the transfer window.

Former Red Devils goalkeeper Van der Sar, currently Ajax’s chief executive officer, is less than impressed that Ten Hag has raided the Eredivisie side.

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

Antony 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. 

The Argentine defender has so far been proving critics wrong, after some early concerns that he was too small to be a centre-back in the Premier League – especially after their 4-0 defeat to Brentford. 

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

Ajax have made a bright start to life under Ten Hag’s replacement Alfred Schreuder

Ten Hag’s side are currently on a four-game winning streak 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. 

Ajax so far have had no problems in dealing with the losses of Martinez and Antony.

They have won all five of their matches in the Eredivisie, while also thrashing Rangers 4-0 in their Champions League opener.