Erik ten Hag is set to become Manchester United's new manager after reaching an agreement over a long-term deal.
Mirror Football understands Ten Hag has verbally agreed a four-year deal with United, along with the option of an extra year, as the club draw their search for a new permanent manager to a successful close. A formal announcement is set to wait until Ten Hag's current club, Ajax, have played the KNVB Cup Final on April 17, and it is understood he will officially begin work on July 1, five days before United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.
Ten Hag beat the likes of Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino and Spain boss Luis Enrique to the job after all three were interviewed, with the 52-year-old Dutchman impressing United's football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher. While United may have settled on the next coach to lead them after a disappointing season which saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked, Ten Hag will have some big decisions to make right away after another trophyless campaign for the Red Devils.
Establish an identity and style of play
Interim United boss Ralf Rangnick pointed to Manchester City and Liverpool recently, stating it was no coincidence both clubs have had sustained success through managers who have been given time to implement a clear style of play and philosophy. That must be allowed to happen at United under Ten Hag, even if it takes a couple of seasons to start to see evidence of progress.
Pep Guardiola finished fourth in his first season at City, but had already established an approach that would yield three league titles in four years, while Jurgen Klopp has been allowed to do the same at Liverpool, ending their 30-year wait for the League title. United currently have no identity. Ten Hag can give them one but to do so, the United board and their fans must be patient.
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Tackle the toxic dressing room
There are too many fragile egos and players who are concerned only for themselves within United's dressing room, rather than what is best for the club. Cliques and factions have undermined the team's chances of proper progress in recent seasons and one of Ten Hag's first acts must be to stamp his authority on the players and bring them into line.
Establishing unity and a common purpose, where the club and the team comes first, must be a priority for Ten Hag. He will be helped by the fact some characters at United will move on this summer, when their contracts are up, including Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard. But the new United boss must make sure there is no room for personal agendas within the dressing room as he leads the club into a new era.
Appoint a new captain
Another major issue for Ten Hag to address is that of the United captaincy. There is no doubt Harry Maguire has struggled for form this season and is likely to benefit from being relieved of the captaincy and seeing the armband handed to someone else.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been suggested as the man to take over the captaincy, given his profile and professionalism, but his future is uncertain and, even if he does remain at United, he will certainly not start the majority of United's games next season. Playmaker Bruno Fernandes is a candidate for the armband, as is goalkeeper David De Gea, but Ten Hag must appoint a captain who will lead by example and unify a fractured squad.
