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Written by Martin Graham | May 16 2022
Eric ten Hag left his role at Ajax Amsterdam earlier than expected to begin his new role at Manchester United.
The 52-year-old was appointed to the role in early April after a lengthy saga that saw several names touted as the next Manchester United manager. He beat his closest rival, Mauricio Pochettino of Paris Saint-Germain, and kept finishing the job he started at Ajax.
After winning the Eredivisie – his third successive title since taking over the role in 2017, Ten Hag was sent off by fans at the Johan Cruyff Arena but was expected to stay at the club until June.
However, after the season officially ended, Ten Hag reportedly terminated his contract in order to travel to Manchester and begin massive rebuilding at Old Trafford, according to reports.
He reportedly met United’s director of football John Murtaugh in Amsterdam in the middle of the week to discuss the club’s plans for the upcoming summer transfer window. After that meeting, he terminated his contract with Ajax in order to begin the necessary preparations for the newcomers.
Ten Hag was supposed to travel with Ajax to Curacao on their end-of-season trip after winning the Eredivisie. Instead, he has chosen to use this time to prepare for the huge task that awaits him at Old Trafford, and he is said to be planning a move to his new job.
Speaking after his last home game at the Johan Cruyff Arena, the former FC Utrecht manager said of his new role: “There is a lot of work to be done. The manager’s job is to prepare for pre-season. There is a lot of work to do for our pre-season.
“There are things that need to be an organized staff and a wise team. We will work intensively on that from [Monday onwards]. “
Among the immediate concerns of Ten Haag is his coaching staff, after being turned down by Ruud van Nistelrooy and Fred Rotten. He will be joined, however, by Mitchell van der Gaga, and they are also expected to be joined by Steve McClaren, a former assistant coach to Sir Alex Ferguson at United.
Martin Graham is a sports writer for the MFF Forum
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