Krishnan Sreekumar
Ajax Amsterdam manager Erik ten Hag breaks his silence after Manchester United interview
Speaking to Sport1 (h/t Express), Ajax Amsterdam manager Erik ten Hag has addressed the rumours linking him to become the next permanent manager of Manchester United ahead of the new season.
The Dutchman has been hugely impressive at Ajax, winning back-to-back Eredivisie titles as well as winning domestic cup competitions during his tenure at the club. He also led them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2019, eventually falling to Tottenham Hotspur.
He was interviewed by the Red Devils in the past week, with the club eyeing ten Hag as a strong candidate to take over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the new permanent manager of the club. However, the Ajax coach said that talks with other clubs were normal and that his full focus is on the Dutch giants.
“There are always talks with representatives from other clubs, that’s normal. Manchester United is a great club with great fans. But I can only repeat myself: My full focus is completely on Ajax! We are already planning for the new season.”
The Red Devils are currently managed by Ralf Rangnick, who took over from Solskjaer on an interim basis until the summer after the Norwegian was sacked by the club late last year after a string of poor results that saw them slip down the Premier League table.
“But in football you never know”
At the moment, ten Hag is on course to lead the Amsterdam club to a hat-trick of league titles – all won during his tenure. He recently got Ajax to the Round of 16 of the Champions League as well, but like United, he could not help his side progress to the quarterfinals of the competition as they fell to Benfica.
The 52-year-old may have committed to Ajax for the current season but left the door open for an exit in the future. He said he doesn’t want to rule anything out and that if he decides to take the next step and depart the club, he hoped that people would understand his decision to do so.
“My focus is currently only on Ajax. But in football you never know. I don’t want to rule anything out. If at some point I should decide to take the next step, I hope that people here will understand.”
Although a strong candidate for the United job ahead of the new season, ten Hag does not have the job in the bag as of yet as the English side are also looking at other possible targets for the managerial vacancy at Old Trafford.
The Manchester side are keeping their options open, with the club also looking at the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Julen Lopetegui, and Luis Enrique behind the scenes in an attempt to nail the appointment of their new permanent manager.
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The past few managers at the club have either not lasted long, or brought any silverware, which has been a major disappointment in terms of their managerial recruitment. This summer will now mark five years since the side last won a title, and this damning statistic needs to change as soon as possible to prevent a long trophy drought.
ten Hag’s recent comments are encouraging, with the Dutchman refusing to commit to his current club beyond the summer and seemingly hinting at a potential departure at the end of the season. Hopefully, the Red Devils are successful in convincing him to swap Holland for England, so we can bring in a new manager who has proven that he can win trophies and build strong squads – both of which are a big priority at Old Trafford.
