Erik ten Hag has been likened to Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United step up their efforts to appoint their next permanent manager.
The Dutchman has completed his interview with club chiefs and is the runaway favourite to take over at Old Trafford this summer, when Ralf Rangnick will leave his post as interim boss to begin a two-year consultancy role. However, PSG's Mauricio Pochettino, Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui and Spain's Luis Enrique have also been shortlisted, so Ten Hag is far from a shoo-in for the hot seat.
Nonetheless, he has received a wholehearted vote of confidence from Steve McClaren. The former England manager served as Ferguson's assistant at United between 1999 and 2001 and can see clear parallels between the Ajax boss and his old "gaffer".
McClaren discussed Ten Hag's remarkable attention to the most minute of details in an interview with the Daily Telegraph , saying: "The only other one I would have seen do that? That would have been the gaffer [Ferguson]." McClaren is speaking from experience because Ten Hag served as his assistant when he was managing Eredivisie club Twente. The Yorkshireman was keen to emphasise his ex-colleague offers far more than a focus on the details as he also advocates a strong work ethic which has earned him a Pep Guardiola nickname on the continent.
"His great strength lies not just in his attention to detail and organisation. He has a clear philosophy of how he wants to play football; the environment he wants to create," McClaren added. "The player progression programme was a key part of Twente. He has done that at Ajax too, for each player from the academy to the first team. You look at [ Chelsea winger] Hakim Ziyech and now the [Ajax] striker Antony, a very good player who will be the next one to go.
Should Manchester United appoint Erik ten Hag this summer? Have your say in the comments!
"I have seen this Ajax team and it's very good. Erik is very disciplined and people have to buy into that and have that work ethic. Tactically he's outstanding. He worked with Pep at Bayern Munich and took in his philosophy too. They called him 'Mini Pep' out there. He's ready. A lot of top clubs in Germany and England will be out to get him."
Ten Hag spent two years working as manager of Bayern Munich's reserve team between 2013 and 2015, coinciding with Guardiola's time in the Allianz Arena dugout. He subsequently returned to his native Netherlands to take charge of Utrecht and was appointed Ajax boss in 2017, going on to lead the Amsterdam giants to two league-cup doubles.
