Fabrizio Romano confirms Manchester United close to bringing in duo

LEEUWARDEN, NETHERLANDS - NOVEMBER 7: (L-R) Naci Unuvar of Ajax U23, coach Mitchell van der Gaag of Ajax U23 during the Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie match between SC Cambuur v Ajax U23 at the Cambuur Stadium on November 7, 2020 in Leeuwarden Netherlands (Photo by Erwin Otten/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Manchester United are close to bringing in Steve McClaren and Mitchel van der Gaag.

Erik ten Hag was recently appointed as manager of Manchester United, and as part of a planned overhaul of the whole club, the Dutch manager could be looking to bring in his own coaching staff.

According to Romano in the tweet below, Van der Gaag and McClaren will become part of the coaching staff in the next few weeks.

Van der Gaag is the current assistant manager to Ten Hag at Ajax, and they’ve formed a partnership this season which has seen the Dutch side battle to win the Eredivisie. McClaren is an experienced manager, having spent time with England, Middlesbrough, FC Twente and Newcastle. The 61-year-old also spent some time as assistant manager to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, so he’s familiar with the club.

McClaren has spent most of his time as a manager, rather than on the coaching staff, so being able to attract a man of his pedigree says a lot about Ten Hag. In his first season as assistant manager of Manchester United, they went on to win the treble in 1999, so fans at Old Trafford will be hoping history repeats itself.