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Bengaluru, April 21: Manchester United have confirmed Dutchman Erik ten Hag will be the man to take over from interim boss Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford at the end of the 2021-22 season.

Ending months of gossips, the 52-year-old Ajax boss will succeed Rangnick in the Old Trafford hot-seat at the end of a frustrating campaign for the Red Devils.

With Rangnick moving upstairs to take on a consultancy role at the club, Ten Hag has agreed a contract until June 2025, with the option of a further year.

"It's a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I'm hugely excited by the challenge ahead, Ten Hag, told United's official website:

"I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I'm absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.

"It'll be difficult to leave Ajax after these incredible years, and I can assure our fans of my complete commitment and focus on bringing this season to a successful conclusion before I move to Manchester United."

Ten Hag has won two Eredivisie titles and the KNVB Cup twice since joining Ajax in 2017, and will hope to bow out after securing a third league crown in the coming weeks, with the Amsterdam giants leading second-placed PSV by four points.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils' season hit a new low this week when they were thrashed 4-0 by Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield, leaving their chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League looking slim.

United will have endured five seasons without lifting a major trophy by the time Ten Hag starts work.

Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar - himself a former United player - added Ten Hag was making the journey to "one of the biggest clubs" in the sport, and thanked him for his time in charge.

"Four and a half years is a good amount of time, but we would have liked to have kept Erik at Ajax for longer," Van der Sar said.

"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'll 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."

Potential recruits

With Ten Hag appointment confirmed, rumours have started about the new recruits once the transfer window opens.

High up on Ten Hag's to-do list will be deciding who amongst the current squad will be suited to playing his high-pressing, possession-based style of football with Van de Beek being one of them.

The Durch player had emerged as a star under Ten Hag's tutelage at Ajax, and was a driving force being the Amsterdam giants' terrific run to the Champions League semifinals in 2018-19.

Having played a paltry 381 minutes for United across 14 appearances this season before being sent on loan to Everton in January, the 25-year-old looks the most obvious player to benefit from the arrival of his former coach.

(With inputs from Agencies)