Rumours have been circling for weeks surrounding the vacant Manchester united managerial position and today it was confirmed that it will be Erik Ten Hag to take over from Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.

Ten Hag has beaten the likes of Mauricio Pochettino (PSG Manager) and Luis Enrique (Spanish National Team Manager) to the position.

The appointment marks the first time since Sir Alex Fergussons that the board will have given the job to a young up and coming manager, as opposed to either managers entering the twilight of their career (Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho) or one completely out of their depth (Ole).

Let’s take a look at his background and why he got the job.

Ten Hag is probably most well known for his 2019 Champions league run with Ajax, the run included wins over Juventus and Real Madrid.

After this momentous run the sharks were circling in the summer and 8 first team players were sold for a combined £307 million.

The losses included their captain De Ligt who was Ajax’s youngest ever captain at 20. 

In short the spine and flair of the team was poached that summer and Ten Hag had a rebuild on his hands, but that wasn’t an issue.

Before Ten Hags appointment, Ajax hadn’t won a league since 2013 and PSV were enjoying a spell of dominance, with Feyenoord winning against the odds in 2016-17.

Nonetheless in his first full season he won the league and has maintained Ajax dominance since, despite the purge mentioned earlier in 2019.

This shows the ability of Ten Hag to rebuild with minimal resources, which bodes well for United, a club in serious need of a rebuild, but also very deep pockets.

The board has already backed him in the window as well making it known publicly that he has 200 million to spend in the summer.

And with 15 United players out of contract in the next 18 months a rebuild is imminent and I’m happy it will be with Ten Hag at the helm.

To not bore you with too many stats and more information, I believe Ten Hag has all the makings of a top manager with a top philosophy. It is a wholly bold appointment by the board but it is an appointment which is exciting and has unmatched potential.

If Ten Hag can drain the swamp with regards to this United squad we’re in for a promising future.

Predictions:

–          I feel that although he is an amazing manager and tactician it will take time to get back to the top but I’m expecting top 6 next season

–          Followed by top 4 in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 season

–           Then the league title will come home to Old Trafford in the 2025-26 season

Lets see what United legend Gary Nevills immediate reactions were:

Here’s David De Gea’s (the rightful captain) opinion on the appointment:

And here is the Athletic with the tactical analysis which will make my predictions come true: