Manchester United have been stepping up their search for the next manager to take charge at Old Trafford, and now information has emerged on the potential appointment of the leading favourite Erik Ten Hag.

What's the word?

Sky Sports journalist Angelo Mangiante has given a fresh update on Manchester United's progression with Ajax boss ten Hag, Tweeting to his followers:

"Erik ten Hag is now very close and he still leading the race to become the new Manchester United manager. For sure, he wants a final answer from Manchester United as soon as possible. In any case, compensation for Erik ten Hag is not an issue for Manchester United."

Supporters will love it

Ten Hag has been a clear favourite amongst Manchester United fans ever since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked back in November, so the news that the club may finally be close to sealing the deal with the 52-year-old manager will be a huge relief for the long-suffering Man United fans and they will surely love it.

There was concern that the Dutch coach could be snapped up by another club with speculation of interest from two other European sides who want to also hire him this summer, but if Mangiante's statement is true then surely it will now be only a matter of time before he is announced by the club as the new manager to take the reins at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag has been successfully managing his current side, Ajax, after leading them to a Champions League semi-final in 2019 and then going on to win two Dutch league titles and three Dutch domestic cups with his squad, and fans will be hoping he can inject this winning mentality back into their team over in Manchester so that they can return to consistent trophy winning.

As Ralf Rangnick discussed following the draw with Leicester City, there is still a huge amount of work to be done at Manchester United over the next few seasons and the interim boss revealed it could take "two to three transfer windows" to catch up with Liverpool, but with ten Hag, that timeframe could well be lessened.

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