Having been brought in to finally turn the tide at Manchester United, the reign of Erik ten Hag is officially over. The Dutchman was let go from his role at Old Trafford off the back of a 2-1 defeat to West Ham, wondering what could’ve been of his time in the Northwest of England.
As the 54-year-old is quick to remind everyone, he leaves with two domestic cups under his belt and plans to go and continue winning elsewhere, as he told Roy Keane after he was pressed about his future following the FA Cup final. The question remains: what is his most likely next destination? For now, it appears these six teams could be among the top bidders for the ex-United boss.
1 Ajax
A hero’s return to Amsterdam could be on the cards
There is certainly an irony in the idea that Ten Hag spent all the money he did to bring the likes of Antony and Lisandro Martinez with him to Manchester, only to end up back at his old stomping ground. However, given the way things have been at Ajax since he left the club, you wouldn’t blame the Dutch giants for bringing him back.
Ajax have failed to win the Eredivisie since Ten Hag departed in 2022, falling as low as fifth in the 2023/24 campaign. Given his success during his previous stint, a heroic return to his former club may appeal to Ten Hag. While he may not be able to recreate the magic that saw them reach the Champions League semi-final in his first tenure, if he were to bring back domestic success, it would go some way to restoring his reputation.
2 Netherlands
The national team job could allow Ten Hag to prove himself tactically
While his recruitment at Old Trafford was often slammed, that is a problem Ten Hag could avoid if he became the new head coach of the Netherlands. While this doesn’t seem likely at the moment following their impressive run to the semi-finals of Euro 2024, Ronald Koeman’s track record in management has proven that everything could unravel at any minute.
Question marks over Ten Hag’s tactics do remain, given how easily teams were able to cut United open last season. However, as he proved in the FA Cup final win over City, he knows how to set up teams in big one-off cup games. Perhaps this lends itself perfectly to the nature of international football.
3 Borussia Dortmund
Nuri Sahin has struggled at the Signal Iduna Park
Many fans were left shocked after Edin Terzic decided to resign from his role as Borussia Dortmund’s head coach so soon after taking the Yellow Wall all the way to the Champions League final. Perhaps feeling that was the highest high he was going to reach there, the German-born manager left his assistant and former Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin in charge.
It has not been a great start to life for the Turk, with Dortmund sitting 7th in the Bundesliga after eight games. If Sahin can’t turn things around, the club might consider calling upon Ten Hag. In fact, according to a report from De Telegraaf, as shared by Football365, Dortmund have been keeping a close eye on the Dutchman for a while and were aware of the possibility of Ten Hag resigning from his role at the Theatre of Dreams after growing frustrated with the situation at United. While there wasn’t a reason to act then, there could be now.
4 Roma
The Stadio Olimpico could become Ten Hag’s new home
Ten Hag followed in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho in becoming the Manchester United manager. Why not do the same and become the Roma boss? The Italian capital is home to one of the biggest teams in the country, yet success has managed to escape the clutches of Roma for much of the past two decades.
Cult hero Danielle De Rossi was sacked and replaced by Ivan Juric, who has since led the club down to 10th in the Serie A table. With very few signs of fortunes changing, Ten Hag could be given a fresh start to rebuild another sleeping giant, where domestic success like he achieved in England would likely keep supporters happy.
5 AC Milan
An even bigger job in Serie A could be up for grabs
Staying in Italy, another potential destination for Ten Hag could be the San Siro. After a brief return to the top of Italian football in 2022, AC Milan have once again fallen behind local rivals Inter in the battle for supremacy, both in the city and nationwide.
Having finished comfortably second last term, the Rossoneri sit eighth in the standings at the time of writing, already 11 points behind the league leaders – again, Inter. There’s no denying the talent available for the red and blacks, with Rafael Leao as the standout name. Ten Hag could come in and at the very least bring a bounce to the team before attempting a similar rebuild to the one he managed at Old Trafford.
6 Sporting Lisbon
Ten Hag could replace the man that’s about to take his place
Barring an unfathomable turn of events, there is one job that is guaranteed to be up for grabs in the coming days. It has all but been confirmed that Ruben Amorim will be the man to replace Ten Hag at Old Trafford, leaving Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon in the process. With that in mind, why not aim to top what his successor has already accomplished in the Primeira Liga?
Of course, there’s every chance Ten Hag might struggle while Amorim goes on to achieve great things as a Red Devil, only leaving more egg on the Dutchman’s face. But in a competitive league with a team seemingly set up for success, even just matching what Amorim has done could help restore faith in the 54-year-old moving forward.
All statistics courtesy of FootyStats – accurate as of 31/10/2024.