Manchester United are stepping up their manager search to take over from Ralf Rangnick this summer with candidates being interviewed since the international break, and new information about the progress with Ajax boss Erik ten Hag has emerged.

What's the word?

ESPN journalist, Mark Ogden, has reported that the Manchester United board are now in the final stages of their manager search after putting together a four-man shortlist over the last few weeks.

Ogden tweeted: "Manchester United set to finalise Erik ten Hag appointment. Ajax coach now the chosen candidate after topping four-man shortlist."

Supporters will be delighted

The appointment of the permanent manager has been long awaited for supporters of the club, so to not only have confirmation of a deal finally being done but with the manager of choice amongst fans, it will surely leave them delighted after a rollercoaster season.

Manchester United are now in their longest trophy drought for 40 years and bringing in a manager like ten Hag will surely inspire a brighter future for the club when you look at some of his statistics at Ajax.

The Dutch coach who was hailed "one of the most exciting coaching talents in world football" by Jurgen Klopp, has a 78.05% win rate winning 2.44 points and leading his side to scoring 3.05 goals per game this season so far, and has won 490 points and 155 games during his 208 games in charge at Ajax Amsterdam.

Despite these overwhelmingly impressive statistics, ten Hag will face a real challenge in the Premier League with Manchester United, as the club continue to struggle to get into the top four this season and spectacularly crashed out of every trophy opportunity available this season.

Furthermore, with reports of a number of players wanting to leave the club, there is no doubt he will have a huge task on his hands to take the club back to glory.

It is looking like a difficult task for Rangnick too over the rest of the season and he will need to focus on their last eight games of the season, as the German coach will surely be hoping to leave his interim post in a similar position that was given to him, with Champions League football in sight.

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