Man Utd duo Antony and Casemiro have changed training under Ten Hag

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Manchester United duo Antony and Casemiro have upped the intensity in training at Carrington, according to reports. The duo arrived from Ajax and Real Madrid respectively back in the summer transfer window. And Erik ten Hag believes the pair can improve the club as he looks to win trophies at the first time of asking.

Manchester United signed Casemiro in the middle of August after admitting defeat in their attempts to land Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona.

And they then proceeded to raid Ajax for Antony, who moved to Old Trafford in a huge £84.5million deal.

United have seen the players enjoy solid, if unspectacular, starts to life at the club in the time since.

Yet the Manchester Evening News say their arrivals have triggered a big change at Carrington, with the intensity of training going up several notches.

It’s also said deals for Casemiro and Antony have increased competition for places, too, keeping other members of the squad on their toes.

Ten Hag has reportedly overseen weak-footed training sessions with members of the squad as he looks to make them comfortable in his system.

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Luke Shaw is said to be one participant, with the England international working to improve his right foot at a time where he’s fallen behind Tyrell Malacia in the pecking order.

It’s claimed this decision has been made after Ten Hag noted a shortage of left-footed players.

That was one factor in the Dutchman’s decision to bring in Malacia, Antony and Lisandro Martinez when the transfer window was open.

The report also claims Ten Hag has impressed at United, despite the club losing three of their opening seven matches under his guidance.

People at the club have ‘quickly bought’ into his ideas, while his ability to balance his ‘personable nature with disciplined management’ has also improved the intensity behind the scenes.

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Ten Hag has supposedly been unforgiving towards players he feels are guilty of ‘poor professionalism, sloppiness or lack of effort’.

And this has been welcomed by players who sometimes felt Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wasn’t strict enough on underperforming members of the squad.

Former Manchester City star Nigel De Jong, meanwhile, has hailed Ten Hag for the work he’s done in Manchester so far.

He said: “Erik has 23 egos in his squad at Man United.

“You can have the best players in the world, but you can only start building a proper side when you can turn all those egos into a team.

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“Ten Hag has chosen his players carefully. I can see one thing, he has picked players with whom he can win a war.

“I can see the strategy already. Look at Martinez in the team. He has that killer mentality. Martinez will run through fire for Ten Hag.

“Antony is adding swagger. He too has a mentality what we call ‘over my dead body’.

“I have seen that side of Antony plenty of times. United have done really good business in my opinion. The spirit in the team has changed.

“Last year, if they conceded a goal, the team collapsed like a house of playing cards.

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“Now, we can all see the energy and strong mentality in the United team. There is a real team on the pitch again.”

And he added: “Ten Hag has already convinced the players that they need to operate as a team.

“It is all about fighting for every yard and working hard. That is what the players need to know. That is a start.

“Then results will follow. At this moment, United are still scoring more goals from counter-attacks than from a dominant style of football.

“But the main thing is that they are winning games and for Ten Hag, that is how he can bring more confidence into the team. Eventually, he can get them to play the way he wants.”

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