Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar has confirmed that the club was hoping to keep Erik ten Hag for longer after he was confirmed as the next head coach of Manchester United.
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On Thursday, both Ajax and Manchester United confirmed a deal that will see Ten Hag depart Amsterdam for England in the summer. Ten Hag has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the option for another, bringing an end to a four-and-a-half-year spell with Ajax.
Van der Sar told the Ajax website, “Four and a half years is a good amount of time, but we would have liked to have kept Erik at Ajax for longer. He is going to make the step to one of the biggest clubs in the world, in a fantastic league.”
“We owe Erik a lot of thanks for what he has achieved with Ajax so far, but we are not done yet. At the end of the season, I will look back more extensively on his departure. For now, what matters is the final games of the season in which we all want to bring home the league title.”
Ajax will now be looking for their next head coach.