Report: Man Utd plot raid on Ajax for third Dutch hire after Van Nistelrooy and Hake

Manchester United are keeping boss Erik ten Hag and are now forming new look coaching team around the Dutchman.

Ineos have decided to stick with Erik ten Hag as Manchester United boss despite a disappointing campaign last season.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co may well have explored other options in the Old Trafford dugout but Ten Hag’s future has been decided.

The coaching staff around Ten Hag will look a little different though.

Benni McCarthy is on his way out whilst question marks surround the future of Mitchell van der Gaag.

United already have two coaches joining Ten Hag as fellow Dutchmen Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake will arrive.

Former United striker Van Nistelrooy is set for a return to Old Trafford whilst Go Ahead Eagles boss Hake is ready to quit his post to join Ten Hag.

Photo by Ian Cook – CameraSport via Getty Images

Manchester United set to land Jelle ten Rouwelaar

Another coaching addition looks set to arrive – and it’s another Dutchman to join the ranks.

The Athletic claim that goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar is now set to join United and replace Richard Hartis.

Former England coach Hartis will move on from Old Trafford after five years at the club.

Ten Rouwelaar is set to take over from Hartis but there are some complications involved.

The Dutchman agreed to join Ajax in May, so United now have to negotiate an exit for him in order to facilitate the move to Old Trafford.

Ten Hag is understood to have felt that the time is right for a change in his coaching staff and Ten Rouwelaar is thought to match Ten Hag’s ideology ‘closely’.

Who is Ten Rouwelaar?

Ten Rouwelaar came up through the ranks with Emmen as a player, where his impressive displays earned interest from PSV Eindhoven.

The move largely saw Ten Rouwelaar spend his time out on loan, joining Groningen, Twente, PEC Zwolle and FC Eindhoven.

Austria Wien signed Ten Rouwelaar in 2006 before a move to NAC Breda a year later, where the shot-stopper became a hero.

Ten Rouwelaar racked up more than 300 appearances for the club during a nine-year stint before immediately becoming their goalkeeping coach upon his retirement.

Ten Rouwelaar combined those duties with a spell on the Netherlands Under-20 coaching staff before joining forces with Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht.

Kompany took Ten Rouwelaar to Burnley in 2022 but the 43-year-old is now on the move again, this time to United – despite that agreement with Ajax.

Ten Rouwelaar has coached the likes of Dutch international Andries Noppert and Brighton and Hove Albion talent Bart Verbruggen in the Netherlands.

Verbruggen ended up following Ten Rouwelaar to Anderlecht as the pair continued their connection whilst Hendrik Van Crombrugge became a Belgian international under his tutelage.

Arijanet Muric and James Trafford have been Burnley’s main goalkeepers under Ten Rouwelaar and he will now be charged with the task of coaching up Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir at United.