Steve McClaren has agreed to join Manchester United as a first-team coach under new permanent manager Erik ten Hag, 90min understands.
Meanwhile, Mitchell van der Gaag, Ten Hag’s assistant at Ajax this season, has agreed terms with United and the new boss is pleased to secure the coaching team he wanted. Others will continue to arrive, but McClaren and Van der Gaag were seen as particularly crucial to his new project.
McClaren worked as assistant manager to Sir Alex Ferguson from 1999 to 2001, playing a role in the club’s famous treble within months of arriving at Old Trafford.
The 61-year-old is good friends with incoming United boss Ten Hag, having previously worked together at FC Twente. Ten Hag has been pushing to have McClaren join him in Manchester since his own appointment was confirmed in April.
90min revealed in early April that McClaren was actually consulted for a reference for Ten Hag during the recruitment process.
McClaren’s job will see him spend a lot of time on the training pitch, a role for which he was known during his first spell at United. Ten Hag is particularly keen to tap into the ex-England manager’s knowledge and experience of the club during the glory years under Ferguson.
Listen now to 90min's Manchester United podcast, The Promised Land, with Scott Saunders & Rob Blanchette. On this week's show they discuss Erik Ten Hag's arrival and his hint about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ten Hag already began work at United this week, wasting little time in getting to grips with the club. But interim manager Ralf Rangnick still remains in charge of the first-team for the next few days and will lead the squad for the final time at Crystal Palace to conclude the season on Sunday.
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Source : 90min