Manchester United will reportedly inform the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Julen Lopetegui and Luis Enrique if they choose to appoint Erik ten Hag as their next permanent boss.
The Ajax manager appears to be the Red Devils’ preferred candidate to succeed current interim manager Ralf Rangnick at the end of the campaign. While United were dealt a fresh blow by reports stating RB Leipzig were looking to coerce the Dutchman over to the Bundesliga, the 52-year-old is still believed to be the favourite for the United position.
Sources from Holland understand Ten Hag is seriously considering Leipzig’s ‘bank busting’ offer, in what will likely be nerve-wracking news for the Red Devils. But whatever happens, United will inform the current candidates of their fate when they do eventually appoint their new boss.
Reports from the Athletic understand this will be the final phase of their painstaking search for a new permanent manager. Rangnick took over the reins from the sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - the last boss to be given the United job on a permanent basis.
The terms of the former RB Leipzig manager were that he would guide the club until the end of the current campaign on an interim basis, where he would then step aside and enter the boardroom for a two year consultancy role. Rangnick was appointed soon after United passed up an opportunity to appoint Antonio Conte, who was quickly signed by Tottenham Hotspur after the sacking of Nuno Espirito-Santo.
But despite the recent uncertainty of Ten Hag’s current future, talks are understood to still be “progressing” between the club and the Dutchman. And should they appoint the Dutchman, the club have already decided that they will personally contact Pochettino, Lopetegui and Enrique to tell them of their decision.
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However, Ten Hag’s previous appointments at the likes of Go Ahead Eagles, Bayern Munich II, FC Utrecht, and Ajax were also completed after a period of due diligence on his part. And with United currently on the brink of a season without Champions League, or even Europa League football, Ten Hag will likely be after many assurances.
But any decision regarding United’s interest in Ten Hag will reportedly not be announced before Ajax’s KNVB Cup Final against fierce rivals PSV Eindhoven on the April 17. Ajax are currently on the brink of a third consecutive Eredivisie and Cup double under Ten Hag’s guidance.
They currently hold a four point lead over PSV in the league, having won their last five consecutive league matches. United and Ajax share a strong relationship between each other, and the Reds will likely do their best to ensure Ten Hag’s potential move to Old Trafford does not cloud their final.
"I want to talk about the game," the Ajax boss said when asked about the potential move to Old Trafford, after the Amsterdam giant’s 2-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam. "I am not reacting to rumours... [ask me] questions about the game or I am going inside."
The Ajax media team are also believed to have rejected media requests from attending Ten Hag’s press conferences, to ensure there is little chance of questions being pushed to him about a move to Old Trafford. "As Ten Hag was preparing his team to face Sparta Rotterdam, the media team were busily rejecting the applications from the English media to attend the post-match news conference," Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill said in Amsterdam.
"There will be no radio, no newspapers, no Sky Sports News. They don't want him asked, in English, about Manchester United. His English isn't that great, either. Ajax say he needs to concentrate on winning another title."
