Erik ten Hag’s move to Manchester United is not a ‘done deal’ because the Dutchman wants two assurances from the board before he accepts their offer.
The 52-year-old is reportedly close to joining United after the board decided that he was the man to take charge at Old Trafford ahead of candidates such as and Luis Enrique.
United believe Ten hag has the right profile to take charge at the Theatre of Dreams and that his history with building teams at Ajax by blending young players with foreign acquisitions is perfect for the Red Devils.
But while Ten hag is keen to move to the north-west, he does have reservations about moving to Old Trafford.
According to Dutch Football expert Marcel van der Kraan, ten Hag wants two assurances from United before he accepts their offer.
First, he wants to bring his entire backroom staff with him to Old Trafford so that they can help implement his philosophy at the club.
United have insisted in the past that the likes of Ryan Giggs are kept on in some capacity but Ten Hag wants to appoint his own coaches.
The second is that he wants the final say on the ‘management’ of the squad and what must be done to the playing staff.
United’s board refused to sign Harry Maguire for Jose Mourinho in 2018, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was denied the signing of Jadon Sancho for 18 months before he finally got his wish last summer.
The club have also proved abject in discarding of players, with the likes of Eric Bailly, Juan Mata and Phil Jones still at Old Trafford on long contracts despite having no futures at the club.
Van der kraan says Ten Hag wants full ownership over the playing squad and that means making crucial decisions over the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire.
‘It is not a done thing yet,’ said Van der kraan.
‘Erik ten Hag wants to make guarantees and one of them is that his backroom staff which will fit in at . Which is good for him in a total set-up in changing the club’s philosophy and changing the club’s identify.
‘The other one is guarantees with his management of players. There’s players that are older with massive experience like Cristiano Ronaldo but what happens if he wants to change to a playing style that suits far more very young players, which he has done at ?’
The Dutchman says Ajax supporters are now getting ‘desperate’ but that Ten hag is close to agreeing a move to United.
‘Ajax fans are almost getting desperate. They are hoping that Ajax will make an attempt to keep him but the closure [distance] to Manchester United is getting smaller and smaller,’ said Van der kraan.
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