Ajax’s ten Hag verbally agreed earlier this week to take over at Old Trafford this summer, replacing interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who is expected to ‘move upstairs’ into a consultancy role.
According to ESPN, United briefly considered Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers before their form nose-dived, and were keen on Mauricio Pochettino, but were worried Real Madrid would poach the Paris Saint-Germain boss from under their noses.
ESPN also state the final four-man shortlist included ten Hag, Pochettino, Spain boss Luis Enrique and Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui.
The other four considered after the sacking of Rangnick’s predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November are said to be Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann, Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel, Rodgers and former Real Madrid chief Zinedine Zidane.
However, Nagelsmann – who became the most expensive managerial transfer ever when he moved from RB Leipzig for £22million in July – and Tuchel, manager of United’s rivals Chelsea, were quickly dismissed as realistic options.
An ESPN source said: ‘It’s important to consider the available options. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp aren’t available and United were never going to get Nagelsmann out of Bayern.
‘Tuchel is a real asset to Chelsea too, so he wasn’t a credible option either. So you look at the market, who is capable and gettable, and United have considered them all. They haven’t overlooked anybody they should have spoken to.’
When Solskjaer was sacked, free agent Antonio Conte was reportedly ruled out because of his demanding approach, while initial favourites Pochettino and Rodgers were ruled out because of their contract situation and poor club form respectively.
Zidane was an option before apparently indicating he would only return to club football with PSG, while Enrique is busy preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in November and there were fears Lopetegui would be ‘another Unai Emery’.
Tuchel was also considered but ruled out leaving Chelsea in the wake of owner Roman Abramovich selling the club following government sanctions due to links with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who is leading an invasion of Ukraine.