Erik ten Hag will begin his Manchester United tenure at the end of the season and will no doubt set about improving his playing squad.
The 52-year-old could look to bring some of his Ajax stars with him to Old Trafford and the Red Devils have been linked with moves for some of the Dutch giants’ key players.
According to the Sun, United have been linked with a move for Ajax striker and former West Ham man Sebastian Haller who has 33 goals to his name this season, 11 of which have come in the Champions League.
However, moves for Jurrien Timber and Antony are likely to be higher on Ten Hag’s agenda than the Ivory Coast international.
The Mirror report Timber is on Ten Hag’s wish list at Manchester United, with the Netherlands international a regular in his Ajax side.
Among the reasons Timber could be so valuable to Ten Hag, is that he can play in two positions, centre-back and right-back, which have been two problem areas for Manchester United this season.
The Telegraph reported last month Antony was a top target for Ten Hag at United, and this has also been reported by The Mirror.
The talented left-footed Brazilian international, who has scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists this season, would bolster a United forward line that looks guaranteed to lose Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani at the end of June.
Donny van de Beek will be reunited with his former boss in pre-season and the midfielder will be hoping that Ten Hag has big plans for him at Old Trafford.
But with Van de Beek back alongside Ten Hag and potentially some transfer business being done with Ajax this summer, we take a look at ten Manchester United players who have been reunited with former managers at the Theatre of Dreams…
Gordon Strachan
Strachan was signed by Aberdeen from Dundee in November 1977, but the following summer Sir Alex Ferguson took the Pittodrie reins.
The Scotland international won six trophies under the stewardship of Ferguson, which included the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup after a 2-1 extra-time win against Spanish giants Real Madrid.
In August 1984, Manchester United signed Strachan and two years later Sir Alex replaced Ron Atkinson as the Red Devils boss.
In March 1989, Strachan made the move to Leeds United before finishing his playing career at Coventry City in 1997 after becoming the club’s first-team manager.
Wayne Rooney
England and United’s all time top scorer had two full seasons playing for Moyes at Goodison Park before Sir Alex’s United came calling for the young prodigy.
Rooney looked set to leave United after Sir Alex retired in 2013, but the club rejected more than one bid from Chelsea and Moyes was able to work with the influential star for a second time.
Rooney made 39 appearances under Moyes during the Scotsman’s brief spell in the United hotseat. From those games, Rooney scored 17 goals and provided 22 assists.
He is currently the manager of Derby County after finishing his playing career with spells at Everton, DC United and the Rams.
Marouane Fellaini
In David Moyes’ only summer in charge of Manchester United, the Reds were linked with a host of big-money signings.
But the only deal they managed to get over the line was the towering Belgian Fellaini from Moyes’ former club Everton for £27.5m.
Despite Moyes being sacked less than a year into his six-year contract at Old Trafford, the physical midfielder remained a part of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho’s plans.
He left for China in February 2019 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in interim charge. The 34-year-old scored 22 goals from 177 Manchester United appearances.
Juan Mata
The charismatic Spaniard was Moyes’ second and final Manchester United signing after being bought from Chelsea for £37.1m in January 2014.
Mata made the move to Old Trafford after seeing his game time at Stamford Bridge reduce following the return of Jose Mourinho.
But within a couple of months of United’s number eight being in Manchester, Moyes was sacked and Ryan Giggs was placed in caretaker charge until the end of the season.
Mata had two seasons playing under Van Gaal before being reunited with Mourinho. The 34-year-old will leave Manchester United at the end of the season when his current contract expires.
Victor Valdes
The Barcelona legend made 11 appearances under Van Gaal for the Nou Camp side during the 2002/03 campaign before the Dutchman departed at the end of January.
After suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury and leaving Barcelona as a free agent in July 2014, Valdes was signed by United boss Van Gaal six months later.
Valdes would make two appearances at the end of the season but never played for United again. He spent a short period on loan at Standard Liege before finishing his career at Middlesbrough.
Sergio Romero
The Argentine stopper was brought over to Europe by Van Gaal at AZ Alkmaar in July 2007. Romero would go on to make 45 appearances for the Eredivisie side while Van Gaal was in charge.
The pair won the Dutch league title together in 2008/09.
In Van Gaal’s second season at Old Trafford and with David de Gea seemingly itching closer to getting his move to Real Madrid, United signed Romero on a free transfer following his release from Sampdoria.
Romero started the first four Premier League games of the season in the 2015/16 campaign, but after De Gea’s move to Los Blancos fell through, the Spaniard came back into the side as the club’s number one.
Romero made 61 appearances for the Red Devils and played a key part in United’s 2017 Europa League triumph. He’s currently back in Italy playing for Serie A side Venezia.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
The World Cup winner had two seasons at Bayern Munich playing under Van Gaal and they won four trophies together.
Schweinsteiger, who joined United at the of 30 in July 2015, signed a three-year contract from Bundesliga champions Bayern for a reported £14.4m.
The midfielder made 31 appearances under Van Gaal, but he was cast aside under Mourinho and only made four outings under the Portuguese before joining Chicago Fire.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The great Swede had one season with Mourinho at Inter Milan in 2008/09 and it proved to be a fruitful campaign for the pair.
The Nerazzurri won Serie A and the Italian Super Cup and Ibrahimovic won the Capocannoniere (Serie A’s top scorer award) with 25 goals.
Ibrahimovic joined Mourinho at Old Trafford in July 2016 after leaving Paris Saint Germain on a free transfer.
Despite coming to the Premier League at the age of 34, Zlatan came and conquered with 28 goals and 10 assists from 46 matches.
His influence and match-winning prowess was crucial in United winning the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League.
Romelu Lukaku
Mourinho was manager of Chelsea when they sold Lukaku to Everton for £28m in July 2014. The Belgian had made three appearances under the Portuguese the season prior, before moving to the Toffees on loan later in the summer.
In 166 appearances for the blue half of Merseyside, Lukaku scored 87 goals and Mourinho was keen for a reunion.
The Reds signed the left-footer for £75m in July 2017 and in his first season at Old Trafford scored 27 goals.
But his form nosedived the following campaign and he didn’t form a part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans. After a fruitful spell in Italy at Inter with Antonio Conte, Lukaku has struggled to impress in the Premier League since returning to Chelsea.
Nemanja Matic
Mourinho brought Matic back to Stamford Bridge after signing the dominant Serbian from Portuguese giants Benfica in January 2014.
The following season the Blues would go on to win the Premier League and Carabao Cup. Mourinho signed Matic for a second time in his career in a £40m deal with Chelsea in July 2017.
The midfielder was a trusted lieutenant in Mourinho’s side and he made 49 appearances in the only full season the pair had together at Old Trafford.
Matic will bring an end to his five-year stay at United in the summer by leaving as a free agent.