Krishnan Sreekumar
RB Leipzig trying to hijack Manchester United move for Ajax Amsterdam manager Erik ten Hag
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United may suffer a blow in their attempts to appoint Ajax Amsterdam boss Erik ten Hag as their new permanent manager in the summer as RB Leipzig are looking to hijack their potential move.
The English side sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer late last year after a poor string of results led to the team slipping down the Premier League table, and the club are yet to appoint his replacement. Ralf Rangnick was brought in on an interim basis to steady the ship until the end of the season.
ten Hag’s brilliant work in Holland with Ajax has convinced United that he is the right person for the job next term, given that the Dutchman has led the Eredivisie side to back-to-back league titles and multiple cup competitions during his tenure as manager.
Meanwhile, Rangnick has been tasked with guiding the Red Devils into the top four of the league table after taking over from Solskjaer, but he seems to be struggling with his role as the Manchester side are currently occupying the seventh position.
Old Trafford likely destination
Although the Old Trafford outfit’s attempts to land ten Hag are at an advanced stage, Leipzig are said to have made their interest in hiring the Dutchman known. Over the previous 48 hours, the Bundesliga club’s interest in the 52-year-old has escalated.
Sources from Amsterdam insist that there is a 95% chance that the incumbent Ajax coach will leave at the end of the season. Not just this, ten Hag’s likely destination is said to be England, despite genuine interest from Germany.
With ten Hag’s appointment as the man to succeed Rangnick looking more and more real by the week, Leipzig’s approach for him could derail the English side’s attempts to get the managerial appointment over the line.
The club is delaying the potential announcement of the Ajax boss being given the United job ahead of the new campaign, perhaps to allow the Dutch boss to fully focus on his task in Holland, with the Amsterdam side on course to win a hat-trick of Eredivisie titles, all won under his tenure.
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With his departure from his native country almost final, it would be a brutal blow to us if we do not end up signing ten Hag and lose him to Leipzig in the summer. His impressive trophy haul in Holland is one of the reasons we have targeted him as the next manager, given we need to break our five-year trophy drought as soon as possible.
Rangnick may still have connections with Leipzig, given that he was previously the manager of the Bundesliga club. Hopefully, he may be able to pull a few strings with his former side in order to ensure that his current team benefits in the summer. That is just a theory, however, and the United board cannot rely on such a situation to hire a manager they would want to see take the club back to glory.
