In an interesting turn of events, German Bundesliga club Red Bull Leipzig have approached Erik ten Hag to be their manager starting next season.
The 52-year-old Dutchman has been in the press lately for being linked to the Manchester United job after Ralf Rangnick’s interim tenure ends at the end of the season and he moves on to his consultancy role within the club for the next two years.
Ten Hag has reportedly been interviewed by Manchester United for the role and has presented a list of demands to the club which must be met for him to leave Ajax Amsterdam at the end of the season for a new adventure in the Premier League.
Manchester United are reportedly keen on bringing the Dutchman to Old Trafford and are working on those demands. The Red Devils are also negotiating on buying out ten Hag’s Ajax contract, which will see them pay in excess of £1.7 million to the Eredivisie giants.
However, United now face an obstacle they never saw coming in Red Bull Leipzig, who have reportedly made contact with ten Hag’s people to offer him a job at the Red Bull Arena starting next season.
The Telegraph reports that the German club are planning to take advantage of any delays in negotiations between United and ten Hag to make him an offer. Still United remain the prime candidates to land the former FC Utrecht manager.
There are suspicions within the United board that RB Leipzig’s reported interest in ten Hag is a ploy by his team to speed up the negotiations. However, sources claim that Leipzig were interested in ten Hag before appointing Domenico Tedesco to succeed Jesse Marsch in their dugout.
The Telegraph also reports that the Dutch manager and United are in advanced talks as the club has decided on pursuing him instead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino.
Some reports claimed that ten Hag is demanding full control over the club’s transfers but The Telegraph has claimed those reports are false. The manager is looking to work with a good sporting director instead; a role which will be consulted for by Rangnick.
Ten Hag’s demands instead are for a voice in the transfers and departures, and for adequate time to rebuild the squad into a competitive one.
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig will not be losing their star defender Josko Gvardiol to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, as the news has been dismissed as rubbish.
The Croatian is under contract at the club until 2026, and despite the juicy €50 million which they could bag for Gvardiol. The player himself had already ruled out a transfer in the summer, telling German outlet BILD that he was not making any plans for a transfer.
