It is not just Manchester United with questions to answer heading into the summer.
As Erik ten Hag‘s second season in the Old Trafford dugout lurches from catastrophe to crisis with the odd collapse thrown in for good measure, another of Europe’s most historic institutions are also paying the price for a spate of bad decisions made on and off the pitch.
At least Ajax have put those lingering – and at the time very genuine – relegation concerns behind them. But, for a club who dominated the domestic landscape not so long ago and came within a whisker of a Champions League final in 2019, this has been quite the decline. Ajax look destined to finish, at best, fifth.
Their worst placing in the entirety of the 21st century.
Of course, as ever with Manchester United and this era of Ajax, things are never that simple.
Manchester United considering manager’s future
Valentijn Driessen, the highly-experienced Dutch reporter, explains to Vandaag Inside that Ajax’s newly-appointed CEO is willing to wait for Ten Hag, putting other potential head coaches on the back burner until the 54-year-old’s fate becomes clear.
“If Ajax follows (chief executive) Alex) Kroes’ line, then Ajax will wait for Ten Hag,” Driessen explains.
So while the phrase ‘never go back’ exists for a reason – right, Cristiano? – the Ten Hag – Ajax marriage may be a flame that is worth re-igniting, particularly if Manchester United‘s new decision makers opt to swing the axe on the under-fire Dutchman.
“Would Kroes know whether Ten Hag would want to return to Ajax after Manchester United? Off the record, he has said a number of times that he would like to wait for Ten Hag,” Driessen adds.
“You don’t say that if you know he will say ‘no’ anyway.”
An interesting point, indeed.
But there is also the future of Kroes himself to consider. Shortly after his appointment, Kroes was suspended by Ajax on suspicion of insider trading. Per De Telegraaf, the Dutch giants will come to a conclusion about whether the former AZ Alkmaar chief should be fired – or re-instated – at a Special General Meeting of Shareholders on May 21nd.
Who needs a Netflix subscription when we football fans have all the drama we could ever wish for at our beck and call?
What next for Erik ten Hag and Ajax?
“(Ajax chiefs) Marijn Beuker, Kelvin de Lang and Michael Van Praag have said out loud that they will continue to work along the lines of Kroes (while he is suspended),” Driessen adds.
“But perhaps the question for Ten Hag is whether he will step in if Kroes does not remain general manager.”
By our count, at least 15 managers have been linked with Ten Hag’s job. That includes Graham Potter, Thiago Motta, Roberto de Zerbi and now Thomas Tuchel.
