Former Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has ‘reached an agreement in principle’ with a huge European club.
Ten Hag, 55, was sacked by Man Utd in October 2024 before being replaced by Ruben Amorim just days later.
But he could soon return to the dugout.
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On Saturday afternoon, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that “Bayer Leverkusen have reached an agreement in principle to appoint former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as their head coach.
“The Bundesliga club are now working on documentation as they seek to finalise Ten Hag’s appointment”.
Ten Hag would replace Xabi Alonso at the German club as he is heavily linked with the Real Madrid coach’s role.
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The former United boss is familiar with German football having previously been Bayern Munich II manager between 2013 and 2015 during Pep Guardiola’s reign as first team coach.
Ten Hag has a huge void to fill in Leverkusen as Alonso led the club to their first-ever Bundesliga title when the side went undefeated in the league during the 2023/24 campaign, as well as securing the DFB-Pokal and reaching the Europa League final.
The Dutchman boasts an impressive trophy haul in his managerial career, having won three Eredivisie titles and two KNVB Cups at Ajax while securing the Carabao and FA Cup during his reign as United boss.
The 55-year-old opened up about what he'd been doing during his time away from football when he spoke on SEG earlier this year.
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"There are so many other things I could do," Ten Hag said.
"Maybe in football, in a new position as a manager. That’s an option. And maybe something completely different.
"I’ve been working with my brothers lately. We have our own company. Or rather: they have their own company.
"But we also run a company together with our father. That’s also something I love to do I can now give that more attention and it’s also a lot of fun."
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The Ten Hag family are in the real estate business, with a company set up by his father in 1967.
Ten Hag went on to explain how he feels the current generation of footballers fail to deal with criticism in the same way previous ones have.
"This generation, for example, generally has a hard time dealing with criticism," he added.
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"Criticism really affects them. The generation I grew up in had much thicker skin. You could be much more direct. If I did that with my players, it would demotivate them."
Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Football, Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso
Luke Davies