Manchester United are set to finalise Erik ten Hag's appointment as the club's next manager, multiple reports from the UK have confirmed. The 52-year-old Ajax manager has emerged as the favored candidate to take over the reins at Old Trafford as the club looks to make a decision about their new coach in the coming weeks.
Ten Hag was interviewed by the Red Devils last month, having been shortlisted alongside Paris Saint-Germain's Mauricio Pochettino, Spain national team coach Luis Enrique and Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui as the ideal candidates for the role. The list was subsequently narrowed down to the Ajax manager and Pochettino when it became apparent that both Lopetegui and Enrique were committed to their respective sides and, as a result, were unavailable for the vacant post.
Rumors that emerged at the time stated that Ten Hag had won over the United authorities after impressing in his interview. On Wednesday, the BBC reported that the he had become the obvious choice for the 20-time league winners as they believe he will fit into their new structure where John Murtough serves as the football director, with Darren Fletcher being the technical director and Ralf Rangnick occupying an advisory role.
With Ajax currently fighting for the Dutch title with PSV Eindhoven, it is unlikely that an official announcement will be made soon. As a result, officials of United have issued a response to the speculation of Ten Hag's imminent arrival, citing that it will be premature to state that the search for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's replacement is over.
Ajax is said to be excepting a formal offer from Man Utd to pay the $2.2M (£1.7M) compensation required to release Ten Hag from his contract. Should the appointment be made official, he will become the fifth manager of Manchester United since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
