United's recent record has been poor and fans are eager to confirm a new manager for next season as soon as possible, but the coaching negotiations of top favourite Ajax boss Tenhag have not yet been completed. Sources say the Dutch are demanding enough decision-making power or they may not agree to join.
Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said Tenhag wanted "enough power" to decide United's future plans and avoid clubs repeating the mistakes of the past, a request that prevented negotiations from closing quickly.
United have spent a lot of transfer fees over the past few years, but the team lacks cohesion, and Tenhag wants to rebuild and use more young players rather than blindly bring in big stars at high prices. Therefore, he needs the full support of Manchester United's board, otherwise the new manager may fail again. Manchester United star Gary Neville also believes that it is normal for Tenhag to have doubts about coaching Manchester United because of the difficult situation at the club.
After Ajax's 2-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam over the weekend, a Dutch journalist asked Tenhag if he would like to take an English lesson with him. Tenhag replied, "No, you go alone." The reporter said, "So you don't think it's necessary?" Tenhag then said, "It's none of my business, you can go if you want."
Tenhag, 52, declined to get involved in rumors of coaching Manchester United: "We're busy training and playing so you can stay focused. I'm only going to talk about the Ajax game and not anything else, nor am I going to have negotiated. I'm not going to comment on the rumors, you don't ask me questions about the game, I'll go back."
However, the British "Daily Telegraph" said that Tenhag said privately that he did not ask for a transfer of 100% control of Manchester United, and he suspected that the British media wanted to portray him as a power-fighting coach, so he was angry. In fact, Tenhag has been working under the sporting director at Ajax, with Overmars in charge of the club's reinforcements. As a result, Tenhag can focus on coaching the team without asking for transfers and other control, but it is inevitable that he would like to have the full support of the board.
Tenhag has made it clear to Manchester United's board that he wants to be "involved" in the process of signing and selling players and wants to have an important say in terms of income and expenses. United have also said they are happy to accede to his request and stress that the new coach should give advice on buying and selling players anyway. As for Tenghag's youthful team strategy and the desire to bring his own coach to Manchester United, it is also a normal requirement.
However, former Manchester City player Mills, who currently works at Sky Sports in the UK, also confirmed that Tenhag does have some reservations about the situation of Manchester United, which is also understandable for fans.
"One or two reports from the Dutch side point out that Tenhag's coaching of Manchester United is not yet fully certain." Mills explained: "Tenhag has one or two reservations about United and he wants to make sure he gets everything he wants. He was well aware of what had happened at United in the past and naturally spoke to Louis van Gaal. So, he doesn't have any illusions about Manchester United, and before he takes charge, he has to make sure that he creates the absolute right environment to ensure the success of his team."
The latest rumors show that Bundesliga upstart Red Bull Leipzig has joined the ranks of the battle for Tenhag. The Dutch newspaper The Telegraph said Leipzig had contacted Tenhag to say he would turn down Manchester United to coach in the Bundesliga. At present, Leipzig is fourth and still has a chance to become a third place in the United, and can directly participate in the Champions League next season, while Manchester United have a good chance of not participating. Leipzig is also rich enough to pay Ajax £1.6 million for the break.
However, Manchester United fans do not need to worry too much and be presumptuous, and Manchester United's appeal is still far superior to Leipzig. Patrick Berger, a journalist for Sport1, also said the new rumors were nonsense. "Leipzig took away Manchester United's potential new boss Tenhag? Absolute nonsense! The Dutchman used to be a candidate for the new leipzig manager, but now the club is completely satisfied with Tedesco's coaching performance, and Tenhag is still the first candidate to coach Manchester United."
Of course, Tenhag does have offers from other clubs in his hands, which means United must try to meet their conditions or he may still refuse to accept them.