The 52-year-old Dutchman was interviewed last month, had been on a four-man shortlist alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino, Spain coach Luis Enrique and Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui.
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Manchester United are close to appointing their new manager and Ajax boss Eric ten Hag is expected to be the chosen candidate, according to a report by Sky Sports news. The 52-year-old Dutchman was interviewed last month, had been on a four-man shortlist alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino, Spain coach Luis Enrique and Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui. Meanwhile Ten Hag has a year left in his Ajax contract but his good relations with the club have made talks more straightforward and the Dutch club will not stand in his way.
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While Man Utd sources insist no final agreement has been reached yet with any manager, even Rangnick has «approved» Erik ten Hag in private conversations. ? #MUFC
Rangnick is not involved in any negotiation – it’s up to the club to discuss details of the project with ten Hag. pic.twitter.com/8asw3pSY23
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 7, 2022
A survey conducted by United We Stand Fanzine, went in Ten Hag’s favour as 62% participants voted for the Dutchman compared to only around 30% supporting Pochettino. Although several former players and experts feel Pochettino is the right person for the United job, Ten Hag has been long admired internally and is the easiest to secure amongst the short-listed candidates.
Negotiating with PSG for Pochettino would be an altogether different prospect than dealing with Ajax. The Eredivisie club has been helpful rather than obstructive and it is understood Ten Hag’s compensation price is a lowly GBP 1.7 million compared to GBP 15 million for the Argentine.
The Red Devils have been under-achieving since the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down at the end of 2012-13 season and therefore Ten Han will have a tough task in hand if the management decides to appoint him.
As of now, United are placed at seventh in the Premier League standings, three points adrift of the top-four. The 2008 Champions League winners have been struggling to play as a unit and Ten Hag’s initial task would be to instill unity in the squad. As of now, they seem like a bunch of talented individuals who are not really aware about what their role in the team is.
Ten Hag’s Ajax is one of the most progressive, free-flowing sides in Europe. The Dutch club is a fairly young team which has lots of energy to play a high-intensity game. Whereas United’s attack is led by 37-year-old legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been arguably their best player this season with 18 goals to his name. It would be interesting to see how Ronaldo will fit into Ten Hag’s system.
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