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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Chris Doyle

Gary Neville picks favourite for Man Utd job between Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag

Gary Neville reckons Erik ten Hag is the favourite to land the Manchester United job over Mauricio Pochettino.

The Paris Saint-Germain boss was originally the leading contender for the position as United's search for a manager is officially underway.

But the French side are refusing to budge on their stance that the Argentine will see out his contract at the Parc des Princes, which expires in 2023.

United have turned their attention to Ten Hag, as a result, with reports claiming the club have approached the Ajax manager about taking the job.

Neville reckons Pochettino and Ten Hag both fit the bill for the type of manager his former side are looking for as they plan for the long term.

Gary Neville reckons Erik Ten Hag is the favourite for the Man United job (Getty Images)

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But the Sky Sports pundit reckons the Dutchman has the edge over Pochettino as negotiations appear to be far more straightforward for the Ajax boss.

"They've been there with Jose Mourinho," Neville told SkySports.

"They want to appoint either Pochettino or Ten Hag on a long-term project and they needed somebody [Rangnick] to get them to the end of the season.

"Manchester United need a longer-term approach to their manager, they always have had that. They’re not going to appoint a short term manager again, they did that with Jose.

"They went against the grain with that and they're not going to do that again. Right or wrongly, they're just not going to do it.

"They're going to appoint a younger, more up-and-coming manager like Ten Hag or Pochettino. Pochettino is not young and up-and-coming but he's certainly established himself.

"He's at Paris Saint-Germain but there's a bit of a danger with him because obviously Paris Saint-Germain could keep him at the end of the season so they can’t put all their eggs in one basket.

Erik Ten Hag has poured cold water over a move to United (SIPA USA/PA Images)

"So I suspect they're more favouring Ten Hag at this moment in time because they can get him."

Ten Hag has poured cold water on the links with the United job, however, as he insists his sole focus is on finishing the season with Ajax.

He said last week: "At the moment I am only working with Ajax and have no further thoughts on the future. The focus is on this season. Right now I shouldn't be the theme. The theme is: how are we going to win games?"

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