Manchester United have reportedly made Ajax boss Erik ten Hag as their 'preferred option' to become the club's next permanent manager. Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer departed Old Trafford earlier in the season, the Manchester club have been on the lookout for his permanent successor.
According to our sister title, the Manchester Evening News, Ten Hag is United's 'prime choice' to take the job in the summer. However, the club has not made a final decision just yet, with Mauricio Pochettino of Paris Saint-Germain also linked.
Ten Hag, 52, has been in charge of Ajax since 2017 and was the man at the helm of their infamous 2018/19 Champions League semi-final campaign. The Dutchman is now wanted by United, though, and could be on his way out of Amsterdam in the summer.
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What does this mean for Chelsea? It could be an option for winger Hakim Ziyech to reunite with his former head coach. The 28-year-old attacker has been on the fringes of the Blues first-team this season, failing to make himself a regular under Thomas Tuchel. The Moroccan has made 15 Premier League appearances, with 11 of them being from the start.
Last summer, Ziyech was strongly linked with a move away from the club, with a host of Italian clubs said to be interested in his signature. It could be a move to a Premier League rival that would make more sense for the winger, though.
Ziyech signed for Chelsea from Ajax for around £36million in the summer of 2020 after impressing for the Dutch giants. He moved to the Amsterdam-based club in 2016 from FC Twente, with Ten Hag being appointed as his new manager in 2017.
Under Ten Hag, in the Eredivisie, Ziyech scored an impressive 42 goals and recorded 47 assists in his two-and-a-half seasons under the Dutch coach. With the Moroccan likely to be linked with a move away from Chelsea again in the summer, United under Ten Hag could be an option.
Ten Hag is clearly a huge admirer of the "brilliant" Ziyech, with the Dutchman giving this glowing verdict of his former attacker almost two years ago. "Sometimes he is a trainer’s nightmare, but you have to give him space," Ten Hag said in September 2020.
"Hakim is 'what you see is what you get'. You see what his emotions are doing to him today. It is an emotional day for Hakim, but I hope he looks back on it in a good way. He comes in as a big man at Chelsea, a top club in Europe. That is the example for the younger players here.
"First become the best here, win titles and then take the step. He is a character, headstrong. But that also makes him brilliant. He sees things that others don’t see."
