Erik ten Hag ‘very excited’ by another major European club as Dutch reporter fires Man Utd manager warning

Erik ten Hag’s potential move to Manchester United is far from a foregone conclusion, claims Dutch football expert Marcel van der Kraan.

It was reported earlier this week that the Ajax manager had been interviewed by United about the possibility of replacing Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.

Ten Hag has emerged as the favourite to take the role, with Mauricio Pochettino, Julen Lopetegui and Luis Enrique also touted as possible new recruits.

However, according to sources in the Netherlands, Ten Hag could be tempted by another major European club, and United may have to convince the 52-year-old that Old Trafford is the best destination for him next season.

"There are three major opportunities for Erik ten Hag," Van der Kraan told Sky Sports on Thursday.

"Manchester United is only one of them. I don’t want to dampen the excitement in England but maybe United have not done all the work yet.

"Yes, they’ve had positive talks with Ten Hag but so have two other major clubs in Europe. These are clubs who play Champions League football and who have chances to win titles in their own country.

"One of those clubs is very concrete for Ten Hag, and I think that is on mainland Europe - not in England. I know for a fact that Ten Hag is very excited about that job too."

Van der Kraan also believes United’s history as a managerial ‘graveyard’ in recent years could deter Ten Hag from taking the job.

"If Manchester United want to get things going, they will have to speed things up and make things concrete,” the journalist continued. “They will have to put a contract out to him because I think there’s a real danger it could become too late for him.

"For Ten Hag, there may be the consideration of the graveyard Manchester United has been for managers.

"Not everything during his career has gone well for United when you see how Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all failed and seen their reputations damaged. It needs some more convincing from United."