Erik ten Hag, despite his miserable final few months at Premier League giants Manchester United, is unlikely to be out of work for long.
That is, of course, he prefers the idea of an immediate return to management rather than a sabbatical to gather his thoughts and figure out what went wrong at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag, after all, still can point to the fact he won trophies in successive seasons as Manchester United manager. A point he was never going to let anyone forget, bringing up those Wembley triumphs over Newcastle and Man City whenever questions were asked about United’s poor form.
Ten Hag’s record at Eredivisie giants Ajax – six trophies and a Champions League semi-final – also stands out on his CV.
So, while the Dutchman is unlikely to land himself another A-list job anytime soon, those clubs a little bit behind the elite – the Patrick Wilson’s rather than the Leo di Caprio’s of the footballing world – are likely to have installed Ten Hag right near the top of any managerial wishlists they may be putting together.
Take RB Leipzig, for instance.
Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag linked with RB Leipzig job
Sky Germany reports that the Red Bull-powered Bundesliga outfit are admirers of Ten Hag. And while sporting director Marcel Schafer remains steadfast in his belief for under-fire head coach Marco Rose, Saturday’s embarrassing 5-1 home defeat by VFL Wolfsburg felt like, if not the final straw, then something to make the foundations creak a little louder.
“Things were really quiet after the defeat today,” sighed captain Willi Orban, Leipzig slipping nine points off leaders Bayern Munich following a third league defeat in four games.
“We wanted to end our bad form after our recent results. The way today’s game started was crazy. We were 3-0 down after 15 minutes and couldn’t understand how that had happened.
“We tried to be better structured in the second half and wanted to get shots off. We need to try and do the basics better.”
Sky report that Roger Schmidt, the former Bayer Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven and Benfica coach, is also likely to be in contention should Rose pay with his job.
Should Ten Hag get the gig instead, however, the man replaced at Old Trafford by Ruben Amorim will find himself sharing a dressing room with a couple of players who were linked with Man United during his time in England’s north west.
Man United reportedly watched Antonio Nusa before the Norwegian whizzkid left Club Brugge for Leipzig. United were heavily linked with striker Benjamin Sesko too, along with Arthur Vermeeren and Assan Ouedraogo.
And then there’s Xavi Simons. The electrifying, often-dazzling Dutch playmaker.
Ten Hag could work with Xavi Simons in the Bundesliga
According to Fabrizio Romano, Xavi Simons was a man very high on Man United’s radar back in 2023 before Paris Saint-Germain triggered the buy-back clause in his PSV contract and loaned him out to Leipzig.
“In the summer, Manchester United considered Xavi Simons as an option,” Romano would explain. “They had some calls. Erik ten Hag was really keen on (bringing) Xavi Simons to Manchester United
“In case the player was going to stay at PSV Eindhoven and had decided against [accepting PSG’s offer], Man Utd were pole position to bring Xavi Simons to Old Trafford this summer.
“For that buy-back clause, the player’s position was crucial. It was Xavi Simons’ [decision] to say; ‘yes, okay I’m coming back to PSG’. Or; ‘I’m not coming back. I’m staying here at PSV or joining another club.’
“In that case, in the second option, Man Utd were the big favourites.”
According to BILD, Xavi Simons is now valued at around £83 million.
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