Erik ten Hag is set to walk through the doors at Carrington this summer but not before he sees the season out with his Ajax side, who are chasing a third consecutive Eredivisie crown.
The Amsterdam club are four points clear of PSV Eindhoven with two games remaining. A win on Wednesday against Heerenveen would be enough to seal the championship.
Brighton star Joel Veltman, who worked with Ten Hag at Ajax before he left to join Graham Potters’s side ahead of last season, has now backed the Dutchman to succeed at United, insisting that the Old Trafford gig is a step up.
“It’s going to be a challenge for him, but that’s what he loves,” Veltman told talkSPORT. “Ajax is big in the world of football but Manchester United is the next level – because of the media, fans and all the things around the club.
“But I think he will do alright. They need a gaffer who is tactically really good. So I think he will do a great job there.”
Veltman was a mainstay in the Ajax side which shocked Europe by reaching the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 and his kind words are not surprising.
Read more: Man Utd expecting to save £50m from summer departures ahead of Ten Hag’s first transfer window
He’s the latest in a string of former Ajax players to praise Ten Hag for his work in Amsterdam and United fans will be hoping that the 52-year-old can replicate that at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag signed a three-year deal and is set for a busy summer, with up to 10 players potentially leaving the club. Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata and Lee Grant are out of contract and are unlikely to remain beyond the transfer window.
There are also doubts over the futures of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Cristiano Ronaldo and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Ten Hag has made a habit out of replacing key players at Ajax but he’ll be hoping to keep players he feels still have a role to play at United.
