Man Utd players and Erik ten Hag were secretly recorded speaking in the dressing room ahead of their match against Aston Villa, according to reports.
The Red Devils are under immense pressure this season after making their worst start to a season since before the Premier League began.
Man Utd have scraped together just eight points from seven matches with Ten Hag’s side winning just two games and currently sit 14th in the Premier League.
Ten Hag is under scrutiny after surviving a summer scare with Man Utd actively speaking to potential candidates to succeed him as manager.
And now The Sun claims the Man Utd ‘dressing room was bugged before their match at Aston Villa in a shocking security breach’ with a prankster claiming ‘he hoodwinked Villa Park staff to sneak in and plant a hidden device two days before the 0-0 draw last Sunday‘.
Ten Hag’s team talks were recorded in the audio, a source told The Sun: “This is a shocking breach of security and some serious questions will be asked as to how this was allowed to happen. Fortunately, there was nothing sinister to this incident.
“It was just a prankster, who’s actually a United fan, being silly and wanting to hear what was said inside those four walls. But it will definitely be a cause for concern about how they managed to get inside a changing room at one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs just days before a match.”
It is claimed ‘Ten Hag’s instructions to the team and individual players can clearly be heard’ and The Sun insists they have ‘heard the recordings but is choosing not to publish details of them’.
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There was a similar incident in the Match of the Day studio in 2023 with porn noises played while Gary Lineker and his fellow pundits were live on air.
The Sun‘s source added: “These people are mostly harmless and doing it for a bit of fun.
“They are doing it to get a load of hits on YouTube and make their fans laugh. They aren’t trying to cause trouble or do harm to anyone.”
The Red Devils’ terrible start to the new campaign has done none of their new signings any favours with former Man Utd striker Andy Cole having sympathy for Matthijs de Ligt’s poor beginning to life at Old Trafford.
Cole told Betfred: “Talking from my own experience, playing for Manchester United is playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world and expectation levels are so high.
“You’re expected to hit the ground running and if you don’t hit the ground running, then you’re deemed not good enough. It takes more time to adjust than a lot of people think it does.
“In a couple of games he’s looked half-decent and in a couple of games he’s struggled. Sometimes when you’re playing in a team that’s not playing well, you’re going to find that inconsistency.
“He’s played for big clubs such as Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus, so he’s got the pedigree, but he, like every other player in that team, is waiting for everything to click and for that form as a collective to shine through. Once his confidence is in tip top condition, then we go from there.”
