It’s clear that, as things stand, the race to become the next Manchester United manager is one comprised of two horses.
Those appear to be Mauricio Pochettino, currently at Paris Saint-Germain, with the other being Erik Ten Hag, who seems to be the favourite both within and outside the club.
Manchester United fans are leaning towards the Dutch manager following the Argentine’s recent struggles at Paris Saint-Germain.
Add to that the type of football that is played at Ajax these days and a happiness to give youth a chance, and it’s easy to see why the Red Devils would want Ten Hag going forward.
Over in the Netherlands, Freek Jansen, speaking to the Pak Schaal Podcast, made it clear this interest isn’t anything new either.
He said, relayed by Voetbal International: “Manchester United have wanted him for a long time, they have been interested for a long time. That’s where conversations take place, but he’s not doing that. That’s mainly management. He’s working on this season and how he can turn it around again, so that Ajax will again get convincing victories.
“He asks his players not to be busy with transfers, and if he demands that from them, he demands it of himself. He did that last season. He’s doing it again now.”
In fact, the interest from Manchester United doesn’t necessarily he will jump ship either, because Jansen added: “There is also a good chance that he will just stay with Ajax. Ten Hag is very straightforward, stubborn and idiosyncratic, but everything has to be right if he wants to leave Ajax. He is still having a fantastic time.”
Ajax are currently top of the Eredivisie with 66 points after 27 games, just two points clear of PSV Eindhoven, which is far closer than most expected it to be at this stage of the season when the campaign started.
