Erik ten Hag agrees to become next Manchester United manager
United insisted Tuesday night that a formal agreement had not been signed, but the Old Trafford club have described their hunt for a new manager as being at an advanced stage
Ajax coach Erik ten Hag has agreed to become the new Manchester United manager.
It is understood that after further discussions with the United hierarchy, the 52-year-old Ajax head coach has reached an agreement on a deal to take over from Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.
Ten Hag, who is set to sign a four-year contract, could be announced as United’s manager before the end of this month. Provided there are no last-minute hiccups, he will become the fifth manager of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Ten Hag wanted assurances about his involvement in transfer decisions before committing to the job.
RB Leipzig, the German club, were also interested in making him their head coach, but he has chosen United instead.
United insisted Tuesday night that a formal agreement had not been signed, but the Old Trafford club have described their hunt for a new manager as being at an advanced stage.
Contracts of this magnitude take some time to draw up, which is likely to be one reason why it is taking so long for United to announce Ten Hag’s appointment.
It is understood that Ten Hag was chosen as the club’s preferred candidate about two weeks ago. It was then left to Richard Arnold, the chief executive, and co-chairman Joel Glazer to rubber-stamp the appointment.
Ajax may not agree to an announcement before their domestic season is complete. They play PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch cup final on Sunday and are involved in a battle with the same club for the Eredivisie title.
Ajax are four points clear of PSV with five matches remaining. The league leaders do not want any distractions in the run-in and, according to sources in the Netherlands, Ajax have rebuffed requests from English journalists to attend their pre-match press conference at the Amsterdam Arena on Friday.
Ajax could receive up to £4 million in compensation for Ten Hag, who wants to bring Mitchell van der Gaag, his assistant, with him to United. He is also considering the possibility of adding Steve McClaren, the former England manager, to his backroom staff, and the ex-United forward Robin van Persie.
