After apparently completing an interview with Manchester United authorities at Old Trafford earlier this week, a former Netherlands player and current head coach of Ajax Football club Erik Ten Hag has emerged as the ‘obvious favourite’ for the vacant Manchester United post.
Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired in November, the Ajax manager has been one of the frontrunners for the United post, with Mauricio Pochettino.
However, as the process nears its completion, the Dutchman appears to have edged ahead of the former Tottenham player.
Ten Hag spoke with the club on Monday, according to The Daily Mail, and is currently in pole position to take over as manager.
According to the article, Ajax has begun to ‘anticipate’ that their prized coach will be lured away from Amsterdam.
After Jose Mourinho was ousted, the 52-year-old was interviewed for the Tottenham post, while Newcastle tried unsuccessfully to entice the Ajax manager to Tyneside after their Saudi-backed takeover was approved late last year.
After discussing with United, there’s a potential that Ten Hag will make the move to the Premier League, however other candidates such as Pochettino, Luis Enrique, and Julen Lopetegui are still in the running.
After an initial research session ended last month, the process, which is being supervised by director of football John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher, has progressed to the next step.
While Ten Hag has been approached about the role, he is becoming more open to it. Tuchel, on the other hand, no longer appears to be a feasible option for United, who are keen to complete the process as soon as possible. Given those constraints, pursuing Tuchel is unlikely to succeed.
Despite prior rumors claiming that United’s players would like Pochettino to be selected, this could open the door for Ten Hag.
Indeed, according to the same report, there is a ‘growing suspicion’ in Ten Hag’s camp that the job is now his to lose.
If United chooses the former FC Utrecht player, they will have to pay a compensation fee of around £4 million. Last year, he admitted that he was “ready” to coach overseas.
During his five years at the helm in Amsterdam, Ten Hag has built an exhilarating brand of attacking, possession-based football that has earned him a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting coaches.
Ten Hag has won five trophies with Ajax in his four years in Holland, including two domestic titles.
This season, the Dutch giants are also in pole position to win their third Eredivisie title under Ten Hag.
Ajax may have a slim lead at the top of the table, but they have one of Europe’s best defensive records, conceding just 13 goals in 27 league matches – a record that should not be disregarded given how much United’s defense has deteriorated this season.