Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is on the lookout for his next job this summer after leaving Old Trafford in October
Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s reported new job demand is a subtle dig at Ineos and the Glazers amid claims he could be considered for the vacant Bayer Leverkusen position.
The Bundesliga club confirmed this week that Xabi Alonso would be leaving his position at Leverkusen in the summer. The former Liverpool midfielder has been heavily linked with the Real Madrid job should Carlo Ancelotti, as is expected, leave at the end of the season.
Candidates are now being considered to replace Alonso in the Bundesliga and Ten Hag’s name has been touted. According to Kicker, Ten Hag impressed Leverkusen’s chiefs when discussing the possibility of joining the club.
He is deemed to be half of the shortlist to replace Alonso alongside Cesc Fabregas who has impressed at Serie A club Como. The German media outlet claims that the Dutchman suffered many issues outside of the team at Old Trafford.
As such, he is now determined to work for a club with a ‘lean and clear structure’ in comparison to United. Under both the Glazers and Ineos, Ten Hag was forced to work in a system that involved sporting directors and while that will be the case in the Bundesliga, it is believed to be less complicated at Leverkusen.
Beyond Ten Hag wanting the job, it is believed that he could be the favourite considering his availability and ability to speak both English and German thanks to his time in the Bayern Munich system. Another candidate, former Barcelona manager Xavi, has ruled himself out of the running for the Leverkusen job as he does not see it as a viable option to advance his career.
Ten Hag previously confirmed that he did not want to take up another job in football until the summer. Instead he was enjoying time off with family before preparing for a fresh challenge.
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