Ten Hag, along with Mauricio Pochettino of Paris Saint-Germain, has been named as one of the frontrunners to succeed Ralf Rangnick as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s permanent successor this summer.
The Dutchman is a fan favorite and has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for several months.
With Ajax, Ten Hag, who turned 52 this month, has placed the Dutch giants back on the map in recent seasons, enjoying success both domestically and in Europe. They reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 and breezed through a group that included Besiktas, Borussia Dortmund, and Sporting Lisbon.
They topped Group C with six wins out of six games, scoring 20 goals while allowing only five. Furthermore, seven of the 20 goals were scored against Dortmund, the group’s favorite.
With Ajax’s recent wins, performances, and style of play gaining increasing acclaim, calls for United to choose Ten Hag as their next manager have become louder in recent months. With that in mind, if they get their wish, the Dutchman has already detailed how he would set up United, emphasizing possession-based game and drawing influence from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s stint at Bayern Munich.
“I watch Bayern play every weekend,” Ten Hag told SZ back in April 2019. Bayern has become my favorite team. Football in Germany has changed since Pep [worked there].
“At the time, I watched practically every training session and learned a lot of methodical lessons on how to apply his philosophy on the field.” I aim to gain control of the ball and inflict damage on my opponent.
“It’s all about possession, movement, vertical attacking patterns, pressing, and wingers moving into the centre to provide room for fullbacks.” “Everyone is launching an attack, and everyone is defending.”
Ten Hag, though, revealed a year later that he is not a “very attack-minded coach,” implying that he is willing to change his tactics when necessary.
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“No, because there’s moments and situations where I coach differently and let my team play differently,” the Dutchman said in an interview with Ajax TV. “It has to fit the DNA of Ajax.
“It might be different at another club, but even Ajax have to master different strategies in order to be successful.”
As outlined above, Ten Hag is currently amongst the frontrunners to be occupying the United managerial hot seat next season, along with Pochettino. On Tuesday, United football director John Murtough confirmed that the search for Solskjaer’s permanent successor is ongoing and mapped out what will be expected.
“We know that consistency is key as we strive for a top-four finish this season,” Murtough said. “I want to reiterate however that this is not the ultimate objective for Manchester United, and everyone at the club is focused on challenging for the top trophies.
“We are now conducting a thorough process for the appointment of a new permanent manager who will take charge this summer, with the objective to get us back to challenging for those domestic and European titles.”
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