Manchester United have received a big boost in their search for a replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as one of their top targets for the managerial role, Erik ten Hag could become available in the summer.
Reports from Netherlands claim that Ajax Amsterdam manager ten Hag is displeased with the Marc Overmars situation at the club and wants to follow the former Ajax director of football out of the club in the summer.
Overmars, who was Ajax’s director of football from 2012 until Sunday, was outed as a predator who sent inappropriate messages to female members of the club’s staff. His contract at the club was due to run until 2026 but in a show of shame, the Netherlands legend had to step down from his role on Sunday to avoid further scandal.
Following Overmars’ sudden exit, a statement from one of Dutch football’s top football journalists claim that ten Hag will leave the club this summer. This news will provide a boost for Manchester United, who have tried in the past to pry the Dutchman away from the Eredivisie champions to make him Solskjaer’s permanent successor.
Overmars and ten Hag are a unit, says journalist
Mike Verweij, the journalist who came out with the statement of ten Hag’s departure from the Johan Cruijff arena, described the Ajax manager and Overmars on the Telesport Podcast as “one unit together”.
United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick is set to take up a two-year consultancy role after his interim tenure is up, and is reportedly a big fan of ten Hag. This has placed the Dutchman above former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino who is also considered a top pick for the permanent manager role at Old Trafford.
Pochettino is currently under contract at Paris Saint-Germain until 2023, making the Ajax boss the most attainable option this summer.
Ten Hag has enjoyed plenty of success since joining Ajax from Utrecht in 2017, winning two Eredivisie titles and two KNVB Cups across four seasons.
He is on course for a third league title in five years this season, as Ajax sit atop the Eredivisie table and lead the second-placed side campaign, PSV Eindhoven by five points.
