April 12, (THEWILL) – Erik ten Hag, the manager of Ajax, has reached an agreement in principle, verbal agreement for now, with Manchester United to become their new permanent manager. He is anticipated to sign a four-year contract with the Red Devils.
Ajax is aware of the situation and is still working with United to reach a formal agreement. United will also need to finalise arrangements and documents, and no official agreement or announcement will be made until after Ajax’s Dutch Cup final against PSV Eindhoven on April 17.
In due course, his coaching staff will be finalised, just as well. United wants to show respect to both Ajax and Ten Hag because they both have cup finals to play in and are still chasing the Eredivisie title.
SEG, Ten Hag’s solicitors, and Manchester United both declined to comment.
When it is finalised, Ten Hag will take over from interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who has been in charge since former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired by the Premier League side in November.
Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of Paris Saint-Germain, was also on the club’s shortlist. However, the club decided against hiring the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, who was the favourite for ex-Man Utd star Wayne Rooney.
Since December 2017, Ten Hag has been the head coach of Ajax. He came to the Dutch club from Bayern Munich’s second team, where he worked under current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
In 2019, the 52-year-old led Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Pochettino’s Tottenham. Ajax won the Eredivisie title that year and again in 2021, and they are presently four points clear at the top of the standings.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
