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LONDON. — Erik ten Hag has reportedly become the favourite to be Manchester United’s next manager following ‘’exhaustive background checks’’.
The Ajax boss has been viewed as a leading candidate ever since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking in November, but has been in a neck-and-neck race with PSG’s Mauricio Pochettino.
Current English Premier League bosses Brendan Rodgers and Ralph Hasenhuttl have also been mentioned to a lesser degree, while Thomas Tuchel emerged as a shock contender after uncertainty arose around Chelsea’s future.
According to The Sun, Manchester United have compiled a “set of dossiers’’ on all candidates for the role and it is ten Hag who has come out “well on top’’.
Old Trafford chiefs reportedly believe that the Dutchman has the potential to return the club to their former glories and stay at the helm “for at least the next five years’’.
The report adds that Tuchel has been ruled out as the Red Devils believe a potential Chelsea takeover could keep the German at Stamford Bridge and that situation could drag on into the summer.
United are keen to confirm their new boss as soon as possible to give the incoming man as much time as possible to prepare for next season. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick has been involved in the filtering of candidates as he is set to take on a consultancy role at the club in the summer.
Ten Hag’s contract at Ajax runs until 2023, so a compensation fee will need to be agreed should United make their move.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s mega-rich superstars dominate L’Equipe’s list of the English Premier League’s highest-paid players, it has been revealed, with four of the top five earners on the books at Old Trafford this season.
The club are splashing out mega money on wages yet have been forced to endure yet another trophyless season after their Champions League last-16 elimination and turbulent form in the top flight. As a result the futures of a number of their faltering stars are unclear.
However, for now, a handful of them have made the highly-coveted rankings of the division’s richest footballers, with Cristiano Ronaldo topping the chart.
Ronaldo, who arrived back at United at the start of the season for a sensational homecoming, is said to be earning an eye-watering £2.2million per month.
This sees him take first place in the top five comfortably, with his overall yearly figure coming to just over £26.4m.
Whether United are getting value for money is open to debate, however, with Ronaldo’s 18 goals this season offset by ongoing questions about his work-rate off the ball and his future in the team after recently turning 37 and having been left out several times by interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
Manchester City talisman Kevin De Bruyne stands behind him in the money list on £1.7m a month — and his yearly wages equal £20.4m.
United goalkeeper David de Gea is the third-best paid player in the Premier League, meanwhile, with the stopper banking an impressive monthly figure of £1.6m.
Despite being criticised in some corners of the United fanbase, the Spain international is said to earn £19.2m per year and is widely considered among the best goalkeepers in the league.
Then, rounding off the top five, are two more Red Devils in in-form forward Jadon Sancho and defender Raphael Varane.
Sancho, it has been reported, earns £1.5m per month, or £18m a year. That is as a result of his £73m transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer, after which he struggled badly for form, resulting in being dropped from both United’s line-up and the England squad. Happily for Sancho, his form has returned in recent weeks and he appears to be finally settling in. Team-mate Varane, meanwhile, penned a contract which sees him make £1.3m per month, or an equally eye-popping £15.6m a year. — Mailonline.
Online Reporter