Krishnan Sreekumar
Robin van Persie likely to reject Manchester United offer from potential incoming manager Erik ten Hag
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United icon Robin van Persie is ‘likely’ to reject an offer from potential incoming manager Erik ten Hag over a return to the club to assist the head coach in his new role.
The Ajax Amsterdam boss is widely expected to take over at Old Trafford to succeed Ralf Rangnick in the dugout, with the German expected to give up his interim role as manager to make way for ten Hag in the summer.
The Dutchman’s trophy haul and record in the Eredivisie are impressive, winning back-to-back titles and a couple of cup competitions. This season as well, he is on course to lead the Amsterdam side to a hat-trick of league titles as they sit on top of the points table.
Given that United are currently on a five-year trophy drought, and sit fifth in the Premier League table, there is no surprise why the 52-year-old has been identified as a suitable candidate to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian was sacked late last year after a string of poor results.
Family commitments
With the Ajax boss inching closer to becoming the new permanent manager of the Manchester side, ten Hag was keen on wanting an assistant by his side who knows the English club well. van Persie was offered the job, but he is likely to stay in Holland at Feyenoord because of family commitments.
Despite this probable rejection, he is still expected to bring his Ajax assistant Mitchell van der Gaag to the Red Devils as the search for a suitable back-room team intensifies this week. Other names linked with an assistant role are former United coaches Rene Meulensteen and Steve McClaren, both of whom worked under Sir Alex Ferguson.
A host of changes are expected at Old Trafford this summer, with a new manager and possibly a new team that will be built as per his preferences in order to challenge for trophies once again. However, if ten Hag were to be appointed as the new boss, then we will be led by a man who has no managerial experience outside Holland.
Given this, it makes a lot of sense to appoint an assistant coach who has prior experience working at United with a host of good names being considered for the job. Of these, it seems that van Persie may not be returning to Carrington, which may disappoint a few fans.
However, it would make more sense to appoint a personality such as McClaren or Meulensteen, who have far more experience as coaches than van Persie, and have also worked under Sir Alex for a long time to know what makes the team tick and how the club is run.
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They would certainly be of more help to ten Hag, and the Dutchman is sure to need support in this new job of his, as multiple managers have tried and failed at helping the club succeed and win trophies before him. It is important to understand that a single man cannot work miracles.
A manager is as good as the staff that supports them. It is hard to think that a manager like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola would be where they are if they did not have able staff helping them in the backroom. And for that reason, it becomes important to know who ten Hag may bring in- because they would be the people that support the Dutchman during his tenure in Manchester.
