Erik ten Hag has talks over vacant manager’s role at Manchester United

This means the process has begun over who will replace Ralf Rangnick, who was appointed interim manager at Old Trafford in November.

His appointment was always to see out the season, before being given a more technical role at the club.

Despite the view that United are impressed with Ten Hag’s vision and philosophy, they also say it’s too early to talk about favourites, with PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino also in the frame.

United aim to speak to other preferred candidates in the near future too.

Ten Hag’s contract at Ajax runs until the summer of 2023, but with former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar as chief executive, they were granted permission to speak to him.

Ten Hag has been at the club since December 2017 and narrowly missed out on a Champions League final spot in 2019, with Lucas Moura's famous goal for Tottenham thwarting his side.

Ten Hag also guided Ajax to the Eredivisie title in 2019 and 2021, while they are also on track to win it this season too as they are currently two points ahead of PSV Eindhoven at the top of the table.

Darren Fletcher and John Murtough are leading the recruitment process, with United saying they wish to make the decision about their next permanent manager as soon as possible. There is no deadline though.

Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui and Spain coach Luis Enrique are also of interest to some at United, who are also monitoring the situation at Chelsea closely, particularly in relation to the future of their manager, Thomas Tuchel.

Whoever gets the job will have to hit the ground running, with Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani and Juan Mata all out of contract this summer, while there are also question marks surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.