Manchester United set to finalise Erik ten Hag appointment - sources

Manchester United are set to finalise the appointment of Erik ten Hag as the club's next manager, sources have told ESPN.

Ten Hag, 52, who was interviewed by United last month, had been on a four-man shortlist alongside Paris Saint-Germain's Mauricio Pochettino, Spain coach Luis Enrique and Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui. Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich's Julian Nagelsmann were ruled out as being unattainable due to their commitment to their present employers.

Sources in England and the Netherlands have told ESPN that United have settled on ten Hag as their new manager and that the Ajax manager is ready to leave the Dutch champions to take charge at Old Trafford at the end of the season.

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United's pursuit of a new manager has been led by football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher, who have reported to chief executive Richard Arnold, with joint-chairman Joel Glazer having the final decision on the appointment.

While some at United considered PSG boss Pochettino, sources have told ESPN, Arnold and Glazer are in agreement that ten Hag is the best candidate to replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who has been in charge since last December.

The choice for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's successor ultimately came down to a straight battle between ten Hag and Pochettino, but the difficulties experienced by Pochettino at PSG this season, combined with the potential cost of releasing him from the remaining 12 months of his contract at Parc des Princes, left the former Tottenham manager behind ten Hag for both football and financial reasons.

Pochettino, 50, had initially been United's favoured candidate to replace Solskjaer, who was fired by United a