Bayer Leverkusen confirm Erik ten Hag appointment

Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed the appointment of former Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag on a two-year deal.

It's the first major move in what promises to be a busy summer for Leverkusen after the departure of Xabi Alonso, who will take over from Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

Jeremie Frimpong is expected to depart for Liverpool with Florian Wirtz following suit, providing the club with significant funds to rebuild the squad.

Starting his managerial career with Go Ahead Eagles, Ten Hag led the side to promotion in his first and only season in charge, making the move to Bayern Munich II.

After two seasons in Bavaria, Ten Hag returned to the Netherlands for a successful spell with Utrecht, guiding them to the KNVB Cup final in 2016. Eighteen months later, the Dutchman got his first big managerial break, taking over as Ajax boss in January 2018.

In his first full season in charge, Ten Hag led Ajax to the title as well as their remarkable run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Ten Hag masterminded a 5-3 aggregate win over Real Madrid which included a 4-1 win in the Bernabeu, beating Juventus 3-2 in the quarter-finals, and being seconds away from reaching the final before Lucas Moura's dramatic last-minute winner.

It was perhaps the high point of Ten Hag's time with Ajax with his second term cut short through Covid before marching to the title the following season and winning a third straight Eredivisie crown the year after that.

His exploits in the Netherlands earned him a step up to Manchester United, those his two years at Old Trafford bore mixed results. Ten Hag won the EFL Cup in his first season as the Red Devils finished third in the Premier League, but the second season saw the side slump to a hugely disappointing eighth in the table, though the campaign did end in a high note, beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, getting revenge for the previous year's defeat.

Ten Hag surprisingly avoided the axe after the win, but with just three victories in his opening nine games, leaving United 14th in the league, the 55-year-old was dismissed.

While his time at Ajax was impressive, Ten Hag still has plenty to prove after his underwhelming time at Old Trafford. In the Eredivisie, Ten Hag's side were streets ahead of the competition, enabling Ten Hag to deploy his preferred style of football, dominating the opposition, but that came undone in the more competitive Premier League.

Liam Williams

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