Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay has been appointed as the new Wales assistant manager.
The 31-year-old is not leaving Old Trafford as he will combine the club and international roles, which is a far from uncommon scenario.
He will start work with the international setup later this month when Wales start their Euro 2024 qualification campaign against Croatia and Latvia.
Wales boss Rob Page has bolstered his coaching team after the World Cup, where they went out in the group stage after a 3-0 loss against England.
Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay appointed Wales assistant manager
As per the Athletic, Page is thrilled with his new hire, saying: “Eric is arguably one of the best young coaches in football at this moment in time.
“The changes give us an opportunity to build on our success, by drip feeding new players into the squad at the right times.
“Hopefully in the next 12 months we’ll then have the next batch of players to represent Wales at the top level.”
Page has also brought in Nick Davies of West Ham, who United knocked out of the FA Cup 3-1 last night.
Ramsay was hired in the summer of 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, tasked with working on set pieces and individual development, but faced criticism after United failed to score a single corner kick between August and February.
The Times reports Ramsay’s ability to speak multiple languages adds to his skill set and was one of the reasons United wanted to keep him when Erik ten Hag came in.
Technical director Darren Fletcher told a United’s Fans’ Forum a year ago: “People only give the one narrative about scoring from set-pieces. The biggest reason Eric was brought in was because we were conceding too many goals from set-pieces.
“We have really improved our defending from set-pieces and wide free-kicks this season. Eric is a fantastic coach.”
Now, his duties as assistant extend beyond set pieces, where his job title is now simply ‘first team coach’.
The Athletic reported in January that Blackpool ‘made an attempt’ to hire Ramsay as their manager, which was unsuccessful, and they went on to get Mick McCarthy instead.
Manager Erik ten Hag reportedly ‘made clear’ he wants Ramsay to stay, regarding him as ‘an important member of his backroom team’.
Ramsay was not looking to leave and is happy in his role at Manchester United, where he is working under one of the best managers in world football. The fact Ten Hag is voicing his desire to keep him, is a very big compliment.
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