Steve McClaren is set to return to Manchester United as assistant coach to new boss Erik ten Hag whose appointment at Old Trafford was confirmed on Thursday.
Ten Hag, 52, met with United bosses last month to talk about becoming their new manager on a permanent basis and has now penned a contract until June 2025 with an option of a further year. Mitchell Van der Gaag, Ten Hag's long-term Ajax assistant, is poised to join him in the United.
Yet the new United boss is also set to appoint McClaren as another high-profile assistant to form part of the new-look coaching setup at the club. Ten Hag was assistant to McClaren when the former England boss was appointed at Dutch club FC Twente in 2008 before he moved on to PSV Eindhoven and the two have maintained a close relationship since.
McClaren was previously assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford between 1999 and 2001 – joining during the famous treble campaign and departing two-and-a-half years later to begin his management career at Middlesbrough. He would later endure a short stint as England boss before moving to Dutch football, where he was appointed at Twente.
McClaren enjoyed a managerial career that spanned 670 including seven different clubs but has not been involved in management since leaving Queen's Park Rangers in April 2019. More recently, he has worked alongside Arsene Wenger at FIFA to develop the game across its member nations.
Now it has been reported in the Telegraph that he is set to return to coaching by forming part of Ten Hag's setup, and he will now be the assistant to his former number two. That is despite United initially meeting the idea with resistance, as they wanted Ten Hag to firstly consider the existing backroom staff.
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There is uncertainty over other coaches at United although Chris Armas is likely to step down when Ralf Rangnick's spell as interim boss ends and he commences his yet unspecified consultancy role. Eric Ramsey – promoted under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – is still on the staff alongside Mike Phelan, while Director of Football Darren Fletcher is also commonly seen on the bench. Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna – now Ipswich Town boss - both left earlier this season.
There is set to be a huge change in the playing squad at United over the summer months but the moves away from the pitch are gathering pace with the club undergoing widespread changes.
