Manchester United went out of the Champions League on Tuesday evening, losing 1-0 at Old Trafford to Atletico Madrid.
Even if winning the competition was unlikely for Ralf Rangnick’s side, it was the last chance they had of silverware, and their chances of being in Europe’s elite competition next season look slim as things stand.
Rangnick arrived as an interim manager to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and a fresh face is expected to arrive at the end of the current season. The two men who have been most linked in recent weeks are Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman saw his Ajax side also exit the Champions League on Tuesday, as they lost 1-0 at home to Benfica, with the Lisbon club winning 3-2 overall. Ajax are currently at the top of the Eredivisie, with PSV two points behind the Amsterdam club.
Nigel de Jong was on Dutch TV on Tuesday evening, and was asked his take on Ten Hag potentially moving to Manchester United in the summer.
Voetbal International quote him as saying: “Every manager who joins a new club needs reinforcements. Fresh blood. That is a fact.
“If Ten Hag comes in the summer, he can also make all his adjustments. It would be more difficult if he came in the winter. And fresh blood does not mean that a large part of the squad has to leave immediately, but he has to be honest with them. Then everyone starts at zero.”
On whether Ten Hag would be a better option than Ralf Rangnick currently is, De Jong said: “That’s hard for me to say. I don’t know Rangnick well enough for that. What I do know is that Ten Hag loves football. He loves the game, spends all day playing it. He likes to talk to players. If a player is not feeling right, he sees it very quickly.”
