Man Utd ’closing in’ on Erik ten Hag as next manager with Ralf Rangnick playing this new role

Manchester United are set to appoint Ajax boss Erik ten Hag as their next manager, according to reports.

The Red Devils have been working on hiring Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s successor for some time and are ‘close to agreeing’ a deal with Ten Hag.

According to Sky Sports, United are ‘finalising’ their next managerial appointment with the Dutchman expected to be in charge next season.

The site adds that the 52-year-old impressed the Old Trafford hierarchy in his interview, leading to a discussion over a compensation package and formal announcement of Ten Hag.

Sky claim the Red Devils have said there is no agreement in place for the Dutchman and talks about him taking over at the club are ‘premature’ - adding talks with other candidates are still ongoing.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino is said to also be in the frame for the job, with the Argentine no stranger to the Premier League having managed Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton in the past.

However, Ten Hag is now seen as the ‘favoured candidate’ at United, as per the BBC.

They state that the reason the 52-year-old has been chosen over Pochettino is due to him being ‘a better fit for the structure now in place at United’.

Ralf Rangnick, who is currently interim manager of the club, is set to take up a consultancy role at the end of the campaign, while John Murtough is the Red Devils’ football director and Darren Fletcher is technical director.

Ten Hag has guided Ajax to two Eredivisie titles, two Dutch Cups and the 2019 Champions League semi-final since taking the helm in 2017.

Former United assistant manager Steve McClaren is in consideration to take up the role again under Ten Hag, according to the Guardian.

The pair have worked together in the past at FC Twente when McClaren was in charge of the Dutch side and Ten Hag was his assistant.

Elsewhere, another former member of the Red Devils coaching staff could make a return to the club, with ESPN claiming Rene Meulensteen is being considered as Ten Hag’s assistant at Old Trafford.

Meulensteen was first-team coach under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2007 and 2013 - a period where United lifted a significant number of silverware.