Can Ten Hag turn Man United around? Biggest questions around his impending hiring

Nearly five months after firing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it seems like Manchester United finally do have their man. And for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, it seems like they finally got the top guy on the coaching market.

Ever since he took Ajax to within seconds of the Champions League final in 2019, Erik ten Hag has been linked with just about every major job opening. The same couldn't be said of David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho or Solskjaer when they were each appointed as Manchester United's full-time manager. In terms of who was truly available and gettable, there was no one better than the 52-year-old Dutchman.

So, with step one of the rebuild — hire a coach! — complete, we have some questions about what comes next for Ten Hag and his new club.

The goal, of course, is to challenge for the Premier League title. As of Tuesday morning, Manchester City have 74 points, while United have 54. Given their remaining schedules, it seems likely that United finish about 30 points back of whoever wins the title, whether it be Liverpool or City.

Now, United did finish just 12 points behind City and five ahead of Liverpool last season. There were some extenuating circumstances — Liverpool's entire team getting injured, the condensed fixture list, and the empty-to-mostly-empty stadiums — so United's true talent level wasn't that close to either City or Liverpool. At the same time, it's probably not as bad as the table makes it look this year, either.

— Rangnick: Man United must fix player recruitment — Dawson: United's rebuild won't happen until Glazers are gone — Which Premier League clubs will qualify for Europe?

The Elo ratings at clubelo.com have a longer view of history than the Premier League table.