If Erik ten Hag decides to move to Manchester United, the current Ajax coach is certainly not against public opinion. Gary Neville, club icon of the Red Devils, let United supporters choose via Twitter between Ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino, who is also in the picture. The result is overwhelming: 82 percent of the 220,000 votes went to Ten Hag. “I was absolutely stunned,” Neville responds to Sky Sports†
“But I knew he would be a favorite, because you can already smell it on social media,” said Neville, who is looking for an explanation for the fan preference. “I think Manchester United supporters are demanding a fresh start and a new name. They want something completely different that they haven’t had before and that will probably work against Pochettino.”
Pochettino is a bigger name internationally as a coach of Paris Saint-Germain and knows the Premier League as a former manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton. Yet Neville also considers Ten Hag a good candidate. “He worked at Bayern Munich when Pep Guardiola was there”, the former right back refers to the two seasons that Ten Hag had the second team of the German superpower under his wing. “We know the impact that Ten Hag made there,” said Neville, who does not elaborate on that.
“He has won a few titles and cups in the Netherlands. His style of play is good. He has more experience than I think most people have at the age of 52. It’s a huge jump, but he has a good resume. He has no scars and that’s a good thing, it comes in fresh,” says Neville. Ten Hag is very seriously in the picture at United, which has already spoken with the coach and with Ajax about the transfer fee to be paid. Yet the Dutchman is still not the outspoken top candidate. Luis Enrique, the national coach of Spain, is also followed.