Who will Erik ten Hag’s Man Utd backroom staff be?

Karan Tejwani

• 7 Apr 2022 14:50 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag is close to becoming Manchester United’s next permanent manager next season following a series of positive talks.

The Dutchman has been in charge of Ajax since December 2017 and has performance has caught the eye of several top European clubs, with Man Utd ready to pounce.

United are already in contact with Ajax with regards to paying Ten Hag’s release clause, and there will be no problem in paying the fee, reported to be £1.67 million.

Related articles

Could Chelsea flop Lukaku really return to Inter?

Havertz may have just ended Lukaku's Chelsea career

Chelsea power rankings: Havertz explodes, Lukaku crashes

With that comes talks about who Ten Hag’s backroom staff will be, and it’s believed that he wants someone with knowledge of a club like Manchester United.

Who will join Erik ten Hag?

Last week, it was rumoured that Ten Hag would be eager to bring in two former United forwards, Robin van Persie and Ruud van Nistelrooy, bu those reports have been shut down.

Van Persie has made his desire to stay in the Netherlands clear, while Van Nistelrooy recently accepted a role that would make him PSV’s head coach next season.

That has paved the way another ex-United player, Jaap Stam, who has previous coaching experience in England with Reading.

The former defender has also managed clubs like PEC Zwolle, Feyenoord and FC Cincinnati, giving him a solid CV if he takes up the number two role at Old Trafford.

Another name linked with the job is Peter Bosz but seeing he has enjoyed a fair bit of success as a head coach having worked at clubs like Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and currently Lyon, it seems unlikely that he would want to be an understudy.

Sources in the Netherlands say it’s unlikely that Ten Hag takes his current Ajax backroom staff, consisting of former players Winston Bograde and Michael Reiziger with him to Manchester United.

Last week, Ten Hag spoke about the possibility of taking over at Manchester United but remained coy on any possible agreement: “There are always talks with representatives from other clubs, that's normal. Manchester United is a great club with great fans.

“My focus is currently only on Ajax but, in football, you never know. If, at some point, I should decide to take the next step, I hope that people here will understand."

United, meanwhile, have not commented on any possible managerial appointments.