Manchester United man expected to stay amid Ten Hag stance

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Ajax look set to miss out on landing Manchester United assistant manager Mitchell van der Gaag as their new boss.

United are busy preparing for the Champions League clash against Copenhagen but Erik ten Hag may have one eye on former club Ajax.

We noted on Sunday that United would be on red alert after Ajax lost 4-3 away at Utrecht.

That’s because Ten Hag’s assistant Mitchell van der Gaag has been heavily linked with a move to become the new Ajax boss.

The story took another turn on Monday as Ajax confirmed the departure of boss Maurice Steijn after just one win in seven Eredivisie games.

Ajax set to fail with Mitchell van der Gaag move

The hunt for yet another new Ajax manager is on – their fourth since the exit of Ten Hag in 2024, including last season’s interim boss Johnny Heitinga.

Van der Gaag may well be a top target for Ajax having previously assisted Ten Hag in Amsterdam before joining forces at United.

However, the Daily Mail now report that Ajax are likely to fail with any move to bring Van der Gaag back to the Netherlands.

It’s stated that any move would depend on Van der Gaag pushing to leave Old Trafford – and he isn’t expected to do that.

Van der Gaag is close with Ten Hag and the United boss is described as being ‘desperate’ to keep his compatriot in Manchester.

That makes any move seem pretty unlikely now and may leave Ajax looking at alternatives.

Ten Hag really doesn’t need another off-pitch issue

Even those who aren’t all-in on Ten Hag must surely accept that he has been dealing with a number of off-field matters of late.

The last thing Ten Hag needs is to face another problem with a potential Van der Gaag exit.

That would cause unwanted upheaval in the middle of the season, just when United are trying to build up some momentum.

The noises right now sound positive, and it sounds like Van der Gaag is focusing on staying at Old Trafford.

There may still be some fears until Ajax confirm a new boss, but this update sounds a lot more positive after claims that Ajax were confident of striking a deal last week.