Eric ten Hag has expressed his dissatisfaction with the current condition at Ajax and rumors have indicated that he may consider his future at the club when the season ends. The 52-year-old, who has been linked with a summer move to Manchester United, has hinted that he is frustrated by the Eredivise club's high turnover of players.
Despite their successes on the domestic front and in Europe, Ajax has become a talent production club in recent years with a policy of selling their best men at the right price. The arrival of Ten Hag has been followed by a consistent period of success, although, oftentimes, the Dutch coach has had to rebuild the teams from scratch to deal with the sale of his key players.
The practice has made it difficult for Ten Hag to properly compete with Europe's top clubs and it is one that the Ajax boss has hinted at moving away from. Speaking ahead of Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash with Benfica, he said: "The lifespan of our team has always been short in recent years. "I understood – and still understand – the sale of players.
"But you can hardly cope with such bloodletting if you want to continue to play a significant role in the Champions League. "You need giant players for that – and Ajax can not buy that calibre of players."
The Dutchman, who is said to have been taking English lessons, wet the appetite of Man United fans by stating his fondness of working under a sporting director. With Ralf Rangnick's interim managerial spell set to expire at the end of the season, the current boss of the Red Devils is set to be offered a two-year consultancy role and could be in the background working with any new manager that will be appointed.
"If you have a good sporting director, you know he takes a lot of the noise away around the manager – both internally and to the outside world," Ten Hag added.
"He will back you up and will also take away all the hassle with football agents. That way I can fully concentrate on the team and the development of the players.
"I can only see the advantages of a sporting director close to you on the bench. I want a sporting director who can be honest and straight. "If something is not right, you know quickly and can be told to your face because you work with each other every day."
On Monday, reports from the Netherlands suggested that the Ajax hierarchy have conceded defeat in keeping Erik ten Hag for another season. According to the Telegraaf's Mike Verweij, the belief is that he will leave this summer and, as a result, did not have a say on Huntelaar's return to the club in the technical area. He was rather informed of the former Netherland's international's appointment, another sign that he could well be on his way out of the club.
