The Ajax coach agreed verbally earlier this week to take over at Old Trafford this summer, replacing caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick, who is expected to “move upstairs” as a consultant.
Technical director Darren Fletcher and football director John Mertow have reportedly flown to Amsterdam to interview the Dutchman about the coach’s vacancy at Old Trafford last month.
Eric Ten Hague surprised the leaders of Manchester United with his honest assessment of the club
The 52-year-old is said to have dressed the United bosses as he revealed the club’s issues during the meeting.
A club source told The Sun: “It was like United were interviewing Ten Hague and not the other way around.”
He reportedly disbanded the club, setting his criticism mainly on United’s scouting and recruitment policies.
Ajax coach joins Red Devils setup, including scouting and recruitment
The Red Devils have spent around 1 1 billion on new players since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, but are set to spend a fifth season without silver.
Ten Haag does not want the total strength that former coaches Luis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho wanted in the club, but he made it clear that setting up the club behind the scenes needs to be overthrown.
Fletcher and Murtough reportedly returned to Manchester shocked before CEO Richard Arnold made a trip to the Netherlands to meet with Ten Hag in person.
Darren Fletcher (right) and John Mertow (left) are said to have returned to Manchester shocked
CEO Richard Arnold also made the trip to have one-on-one meetings with Ten Hag
Despite their initial shock, the United bosses were not considered to be disappointed by Ten Hague’s crude assessment and instead impressed by his crude honesty.
Prior to the trip to Amsterdam, United had already made Ten Hague their priority candidate, according to the report.
The Ajax coach has surpassed a reported list of eight coaches for the job, including Mauricio Pochettino.
According to ESPN, United thought about Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers for a while before their form, and they were eager for Pochettino, but they were worried that Real Madrid would fire their boss Paris Saint-Germain.
Opponent Mauricio Pochettino’s interview with United reportedly took place via Zoom
The interview with the former Tottenham manager was reportedly done through Zoom and did not go well.
The Argentine is said to have revealed how many players he was willing to release from Old Trafford and talked about how much it would cost to reform the team.
PSG are also said to be demanding a significant amount of release, although it seems likely to sack the coach anyway, compared to Ajax who are willing to let Ten Hague leave for around εκατο 2million.
Along with Ten Haag and Pochettino, ESPN also reports that the latest list of four men included Spain boss Luis Enrique and Sevilla coach Hulen Lopetegui.
The latest list of United’s four men also included Spain coach Luis Enrique (left) and Sevilla coach Hulen Lopetegui (right).
The other four under investigation after the ousting of Rangnik’s predecessor, Ole Gunnar Solskier, in November are said to be Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann, Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel, Rogers and Zinedine Zidane.
However, Nagelsmann – who became the most expensive manager transfer ever when he left RB Leipzig for 22 22m in July – and Tuchel, the coach of United rivals Chelsea, were quickly dismissed as realistic.
When Solskjaer was sacked, free agent Antonio Conte was reportedly sacked due to his demanding approach, while original favorites Pochettino and Rodgers were sacked due to their contract status and the club’s poor form respectively.
Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers (above) “was also taken into consideration before his uniform took a dip in the nose”
Zidane was an option before apparently indicating that he would return to club football with only PSG, while Enrique is busy preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in November and there were fears that Lopetegui would be “another Unai”. Emery “.
Tuhel was also considered, but ruled out leaving Chelsea as owner Roman Abramovich sold the club after government sanctions over links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is leading the invasion of Ukraine.
Ten Hag’s philosophy has been heavily influenced by his mentor and former youth team coach Epi Drost, who died of a heart attack at the age of 49 in 1995.
His career has been shaped by the misfortune of three of his friends. First, he lost his friend Andy Scharmin in a plane crash en route to a charity tournament in Suriname.
Ten Hague’s life has been profoundly affected by the deaths of Andy Sarmin (L) and Gino Weber (R)
Gino Weber, a friend and former Twente youth teammate, later committed suicide at the age of 33 after his career was derailed by injuries.
Another member of Twente youth team, Wilfried Elzinga, saw his career cut short due to injury.
Those close to Ten Haag believe that the 52-year-old was driven to success by the misfortune of his friends, as if determined to seize the opportunities they never had.
Ten Hague enjoyed a mediocre career in his homeland before excelling as a coach
Ten Haag turned down the opportunity to join his brothers in the family business and instead had a mediocre career in his home country as a center back before excelling as a coach.
“I often think about my youth on Twente,” said Ten Hag. “Three boys were so good that they could reach the national team. But one of them was seriously injured and two other boys died young. It puts everything in perspective.
“Epi Drost was my idol. He was a fan of adventurous football. It stimulates creativity, because that was the most important thing for him. Epi died of a heart attack in a fight. That was a huge blow to me. “
