Erik ten Hag was the unanimous choice for the Manchester United job by those entrusted with selecting the club's new permanent boss.
After a rigorous selection process, which also saw Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique interviewed for the job, Ajax boss ten Hag emerged as the outstanding candidate. The selection process was led by Football Director John Murtough and Technical Director Darren Fletcher, with United chief executive Richard Arnold involved in the final stages, when ten Hag became the overwhelming choice.
Of all the candidates, United felt 52-year-old ten Hag was the one most closely aligned with their identity and strategy, his status as a proven winner, commitment to youth and an attractive, attacking style of play impressing the club's hierarchy. Ten Hag's ability to improve players – something that has been sorely lacking among his United predecessors – and track record of developing teams was also seen as giving him the edge over other, more high-profile, candidates interviewed.
In his interviews with Murtough and Fletcher, initially on Zoom but then face-to-face, ten Hag set out long-term vision for United and how he intended to rebuild them into a successful, exciting team, capable of challenging for the Premier League title again. Those involved in the process of selecting United's new manager were said to be impressed with the passion, energy and enthusiasm for the challenge shown by ten Hag, who becomes the club's fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013.
Also taken into consideration when appointing ten Hag was the fact he has managed more than 40 Champions League games, including leading Ajax to the semi-finals in 2019, while his 'big club' experience at Bayern Munich, where he worked under Pep Guardiola, was also seen as a major plus, given the size of United and the scale of the task facing him there.
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Murtough, Fetcher and Arnold concluded ten Hag was driven to prove himself in a bigger league than the Eredivisie and was ready to take the next step in his impressive managerial career. As one of the most exciting, consistent managers in European football, United felt they could not risk losing the opportunity to give him the chance to rebuild the club, with autonomy on transfers and the structure of the first-team set-up.
With two Eredivisie titles and two Dutch cups in two full seasons - Ajax were also top when league was suspended in 2019-20 because of Covid – ten Hag has already proved he has the winning mentality to succeed at a club like United.
