Is Erik ten Hag the saviour Old Trafford craves?

The 52-year-old Ajax manager has delivered trophies with a vibrant, eye-catching style of football. Could he be the man to revive Manchester United’s fortunes? And will the club back his vision?

Manchester United fans have a right to be very excited if the news stories about the club’s manager hunt turn out to be authentic. According to recent reports in the British media, Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is the strong favourite to be named United’s next full-time manager.

Both the BBC and the Daily Mail have claimed that the 52-year-old tactical mastermind is seen as fitting the profile the United board want for the man who they hope will restore the glory days the club enjoyed under Alex Ferguson. Ten Hag is set to become the Red Devils’ fifth permanent boss since the departure of Ferguson as a Premier League champion in 2013 — the club has not won the league since and 2021-22 will be the fifth successive season it will finish without a trophy.

While the development is encouraging news for United supporters — and neutral fans who appreciate progressive, attractive football — it has dealt a blow to the dreams of embattled Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino, who, too, has shown he can successfully coach teams to play a front-footed, up-tempo style and was reportedly being considered for the Old Trafford job.

According to reports, United has already held talks with Ajax — whose chief executive is former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Ten Hag’s contract is up at the end of next season and it would cost United around £1.6 million to prise him away whereas PSG might demand a far larger sum for Pochettino to leave. However, Pochettino’s position at PSG is far from secure after a disappointing exit in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Ten Hag — whose Ajax side was denied a place in the 2019 Champions League final by Pochettino when he managed Tottenham — has been interviewed by United and is said to have demanded backing to pursue his transfer targets. He reportedly told football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher that he envisaged a “five-year project”. He also addressed the futures of several squad members, saying they are nowhere near “Champions League shape”.

Both the BBC and the Mail say, however, that United will hold off on an announcement out of respect for Ajax and the closeness of its Eredivisie title race with PSV Eindhoven — the latter trails ten Hag’s side by four points in the Dutch top-flight. The arch-rivals will also clash this weekend in the final of the domestic KNVB Cup.

Recent attempts by the media to confirm the news with the man himself proved futile — he threatened to walk out of an interview last week after being questioned about the United job. But he did speak to German outlet Sport1 about his future earlier in the month, when he refused “to rule anything out”. “My full focus is completely on Ajax,” ten Hag said. “Anything else would just be a distraction. I know that in football everything can change from one day to the next. If at some point I should decide to take the next step, I hope that people here will understand.”