Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Ajax manager Erik ten Hag on a three-year contract as the club prepare a summer revolution to make them competitive in the Premier League again.
Ten Hag will join at the end of the season – subject to a work permit – with the remit of making the Red Devils title challengers once more: a midweek defeat to Liverpool showed just how far they have fallen this season despite a substantial summer spend.
There will once again be funds to spend this summer, with Declan Rice and Harry Kane among the potential close season targets, but Ten Hag will also oversee a culture change in terms of training, preparation and recruitment.
The club were won over by his “long-term vision” and commitment to attractive football and developing young players. They have paid £2.5million in compensation to Ajax and assistant manager Mitchell van der Gaag is also expected to move to Old Trafford.
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Ten Hag said: “It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.”
Ten Hag is renowned for his obsessive eye for detail and will look to impose a high-pressing game that relies on his players making off-the-ball runs and having a forensic knowledge of his preferred gameplan. Manchester United understand that will take time, hence the three-year deal with an option to extend for a fourth year.
He was the outstanding candidate for the job, with Mauricio Pochettino losing ground after a mediocre season at Paris Saint-Germain.
Football director John Murtough said: “During the past four years at Ajax, Erik has proved himself to be one of the most exciting and successful coaches in Europe, renowned for his team’s attractive, attacking football and commitment to youth.
“In our conversations with Erik leading up to this appointment, we were deeply impressed with his long-term vision for returning Manchester United to the level we want to be competing at, and his drive and determination to achieve that.”
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