By Simon Evans
MANCHESTER (Reuters) -Manchester United have named Ajax Amsterdam coach Erik ten Hag as their new manager to succeed interim boss Ralf Rangnick from the end of this season, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
“Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Erik ten Hag as men’s first team manager, subject to work visa requirements, from the end of this season until June 2025, with the option to extend for a further year,” United said in a statement.
Ten Hag is the fifth permanent manager to be appointed by United since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 following David Moyes, Luis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rangnick took over as interim manager in November following the sacking of Solskjaer with an agreement to continue as a consultant for two years.
The 52-year-old Ten Hag was appointed by Ajax during the 2017-18 campaign and led them to the Dutch league title in 2019 and 2021, as well as the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
The Dutchman, who previously worked with the reserve team of Bayern Munich, had long been linked with a move to United.
“It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” he said in the club statement.
“I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve,” he added.
“It will be difficult to leave Ajax after these incredible years, and I can assure our fans of my complete commitment and focus on bringing this season to a successful conclusion before I move to Manchester United.”
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Hritika Sharma; editing by Jason Neely and Pritha Sarkar)
