Man Utd confirm Erik ten Hag as new manager after signing three-year contract

Manchester United have announced Erik ten Hag as their new permanent manager.

The Dutch manager will start after the conclusion of this season until June 2025, with an option of extending for a further year.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was ousted from Old Trafford back in November with the German manager Ralf Rangnick taking on an interim role while they found a permanent replacement.

The Manchester United website have now confirmed that the Ajax manager, ten Hag will be taking on the permanent position from 1 July 2022.

United’s football director John Murtough has said: “During the past four years at Ajax, Erik has proved himself to be one of the most exciting and successful coaches in Europe, renowned for his team’s attractive, attacking football and commitment to youth.

“In our conversations with Erik leading up to this appointment, we were deeply impressed with his long-term vision for returning Manchester United to the level we want to be competing at, and his drive and determination to achieve that.

“We wish Erik the best of luck as he focuses on achieving a successful end of the season at Ajaz and look forward to welcoming him to Manchester United this summer.”

After the announcement was made, ten Hag said: “It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.

“It will be difficult to leave Ajax after these incredible years, and I can assure our fans of my complete commitment and focus on bringing this season to a successful conclusion before I move to Manchester United.”

It has been reported that United agreed a £2.5 million compensation package with Ajax for their manager and his assistant Mitchell van der Gaag.

The Red Devils currently sit sixth in the Premier League with only a qualification place of the UEFA Europa League likely after a disappointing season with Rangnik.

The appointment of ten Hag will bolster fans and players’ confidence that they will return to the top four in the league soon.

This year has seen numerous reports of an unhappy dressing room at Old Trafford and while Solskjaer had initially been blamed for much of this depression, the situation did not change under Rangnick.

However, the appointment of ten Hag will hope to be a new beginning for the Red Devils and his success at Ajax will hopefully transfer across the channel.

Ten Hag joined Ajax in 2017 after working with the Go Ahead Eagles and the Bayern Munich II. In 2019, he led the Dutch outfit to the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League semi finals for the first time since 1997.

The former centre-back’s first managerial trophy came in the same year when his team won the 2018-19 KNVB Cup.

In January 2022, ten Hag became the fastest manager in league history to reach 100 wins with Ajax, achieving the feat in just 128 matches.

The Dutch manager had been one of two main targets for United ahead of the appointement. Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino was another on the Red Devils list, but ten Hag’s focus on youth won the support from the United board.