Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is being linked with a return to Ajax, with the Eredivisie side drawing up a list of managerial targets that also includes Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders.
Ajax’s new chief executive Alex Kroes has been tasked with finding a new manager to replace interim coach John van’t Schip at the end of the season.
According to The Mirror, Lijnders is regarded as the most realistic option right now, but that is presumably down to him leaving Anfield when Jurgen Klopp quits at the end of the season.
Lijnders had been seen as a potential replacement for Klopp as Liverpool boss, but the Scousers appear to be taking a different route in their search for a new manager.
The report also claims that sources close to Ajax have confirmed that Kroes has not yet ruled out offering Ten Hag the job, with the Dutchman under pressure to keep his job under new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
It is believed that Ten Hag has been given no assurances over his future at Old Trafford and it doesn’t help his cause that United are being linked with several managers, including Brighton’s Roberto de Zerbi.
After winning three successive titles at Ajax, it would be a no brainer for the Dutch giants to approach Ten Hag is he was to lose his job at United, although there will be bigger jobs on offer around Europe this summer.
Ten Hag’s biggest challenge right now is guiding United into the top four. That should be enough to keep his job at United, but it remains to be seen if the Ineos Sports group has any confidence in him leading the team beyond this season.
Let us know in the comments section if you think Ten Hag will be United manager next season.
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