Manchester United are reportedly contemplating signing Croatia World Cup duo Dominik Livakovic and Josip Juranovic in January.
That’s according to a report from Sportske Novosti, who claim that Erik ten Hag is a keen admirer of the Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic players.
Media Foot claim that the 27-year-old goalkeeper will cost around €10 million (£9m), whilst it has been claimed by football journalist Ignazio Genuardi that the Celtic right-back is valued at around €20m (£17m).
It seems as though Ten Hag is very keen to bolster his right-back and goalkeeping ranks at Old Trafford before the end of the January window.
Both players are very solid operators, and they proved that during the World Cup out in Qatar this winter. However, United and Ten Hag should be aiming a lot higher.
Manchester United signing Croatian World Cup duo would be really underwhelming
Livakovic and Juranovic are reliable players, and they will always give nothing less than 100%.
It could be argued that that is the bare minimum that Ten Hag should be expecting of United players.
And the Dutchman really should be setting his sights higher than the Croatian duo.
Juranovic, 27, is certainly no better than Diogo Dalot. In fact, he’s nowhere near as good as the Portuguese right-back.
Meanwhile, Livakovic is not on the same level as David De Gea and, at 27, he definitely won’t be prepared to sit on the bench at Old Trafford for the next few years.
Ten Hag has so much work to do to transform his Man United team into genuine challengers for the Premier League and Champions League trophies.
Any signing that the Dutchman makes has to be of the very highest quality if he is to get his team closer to the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal.
If the ex-Ajax manager wants a right-back and a goalkeeper, he should be prepared to go big for Denzel Dumfries and Diogo Costa.
Sure, they will be incredibly expensive, but do Ten Hag and the United owners want to return the club to the glory days or not?
United signing Livakovic and Juranovic in January would be a sure sign that neither the owners or the manager have the ambition needed to take this club forward. It would be a huge backward step.
Read also: Ten Hag has reportedly identified £106m star as his primary target.
