After a long time, there is a sense of excitement around Manchester United once again. There is no hiding from the fact that 2021/22 has been a disastrous season for them. Not only are they set to finish trophyless for the fifth straight season but they are also set to miss out on the Champions League qualification spot, and their spot in the Europa League is not secure yet either. But Erik ten Hag has been confirmed as the next permanent manager of the club.
Ten Hag did an incredible job during his time at Ajax, turning them into the dominant team in the Netherlands once again while making tremendous progress in Europe, even guiding the side to an unlikely place in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals a few years back.
Thus, there is a lot of hope that Ten Hag can be the man to take Manchester United back to the top, something that the likes of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick have failed to do.
Ten Hag recently revealed why he picked the move to Manchester United even though he had the chance to work at a different club with a better foundation. As reported by Evening Standard, he told De Telegraaf:
"“I had chances to work at a different club, with a better foundation.“But I chose United. Things have to get addressed there and that’s a challenge. The club and I are on the same wavelength about how I want to do this.”"
Ten Hag reveals why he decided to take the Manchester United job
Judging from Ten Hag’s comments, it appears that the challenge of fixing things at Manchester United is something that appealed to him.
Of course, he will have his work cut out for him. Things have not gone Manchester United’s way since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. They have struggled all across the board since then and things only seem to be deteriorating with every passing season.
It remains to be seen if Ten Hag is the man who can finally bring things back on track for the Red Devils and turn them back into one of the European giants.