Manchester United continue with the search for a new manager and Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag is the man most supporters would like to see take over.
Ten Hag has a tremendous record with Ajax, with the team scoring more than 100 goals in all competitions already this season.
The Mail reported last week Ten Hag is keen on the United job, claiming he has privately expressed a desire to quit Ajax at the end of the season.
Why join basket-case United?
Ten Hag has a comfortable job at Ajax where he is revered and enjoying continued success. Manchester United meanwhile are a real mess right now.
United require a major rebuild, with huge pressure, and it is fair to wonder, why he would want to leave Ajax for Old Trafford.
Dutch journalist Johan Inan has however suggested Ajax’s future is not as rosy as it may appear from the outside, suggesting a rebuilding job is required there too.
Along with a recent dip in results for Ajax, Inan suggests Ten Hag could feel this is the right time to walk away from the club.
Inan told the AD voetball podcast: “That will also give the trainer something to think about about his future at Ajax. If Ten Hag stays, he will have to start building again.
“Given Rensch’s play in recent weeks, I think they will look for a new right-back. A left back needs to be added. A replacement for Gravenberch. An extra striker. Rebuilding Ajax will take a year or two. If he wants that, he will want more say in purchasing policy.”
Ajax has also seen sporting director Marc Overmars step down, placing the club into a moment of transition. This makes it easier for Ten Hag to walk away.
If he is going to have to conduct another rebuilding job at Ajax, then he may well consider that he might as well take on the United challenge.
Ten Hag has already re-shaped Ajax once, after 2019 when Matthijs De Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Frenkie De Jong all left the club in one summer.
His success since has helped demonstrate his acumen to help rebuild United, and he may well feel he has nothing left to prove at Ajax.
The United job is still an arduous task, but one Ten Hag appears to be ready for. United just have to be patient until a decision is made.
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