Ajax boss ten Hag speaks out amid Newcastle links
A fresh insight into Newcastle’s managerial hunt, and in particular the potential appointment of Erik ten Hag, has been provided over the last 24 hours.
Bruce out
The news which the Magpies faithful had been awaiting for several weeks of course finally arrived in the middle of last week.
This came in the form of the departure of long-time boss Steve Bruce.
On the back of the big-money takeover at St. James’ Park, it had long been viewed as more a case of when, rather than if Bruce would be sent packing, ahead of a potentially prosperous new era on Tyneside.
In turn, after the club’s defeat to Tottenham last weekend, the definitive decision was made that the Englishman no longer represented the right man to lead Newcastle forward.
It was therefore announced that Bruce’s two-year stint in the North East of England had officially been brought to an end on Wednesday afternoon:
#NUFC can confirm that Steve Bruce has left his position as head coach by mutual consent.
The club would like to place on record its gratitude to Steve for his contribution and wishes him well for the future.
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) October 20, 2021
ten Hag latest
News of Bruce’s exit, meanwhile, has since given rise to rampant speculation surrounding just who is set to be chosen as the man to replace the 60-year-old in the Magpies dugout.
A whole host of names have been tipped for the role of late, with ex-Roma boss Paulo Fonseca currently viewed as the front-runner.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 26: Paulo Fonseca, Manager of Shakhtar Donetsk looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk at Etihad Stadium on September 26, 2017 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
As outlined above, though, over the last 24 hours, an insight has been provided into the possibility of an alternative target, in the form of Erik ten Hag, taking up the reins at St. James’.
Highly-regarded Dutchman ten Hag is of course currently in charge of Eredivisie giants Ajax, the club with whom the 51-year-old has built a reputation for himself as one of European football’s most gifted tactical minds.
In turn, it should come as little surprise to hear that ten Hag is one of the names under consideration on the part of the incoming brass at Newcastle.
Speaking to the media after guiding his side to a remarkable 5-0 downing of arch rivals PSV Eindhoven on Sunday, just days after overseeing a 4-0 drubbing of Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, the one-time FC Twente star was therefore drawn on his future.
Ten Hag, though, was keen to reiterate his commitment to the project at Ajax, explaining:
‘When I extended my contract with Ajax, I said: ‘I think we have a team that we can develop’.
‘We want to annoy the European top teams. We’re on our way, let me put it this way.’
RRRRREWIND ➠ #ajapsv
You were waiting for this, right 🎞️😆 pic.twitter.com/0sSQr5H0yf
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) October 25, 2021
As per Lee Ryder of the Chronicle, even in the case that Newcastle’s new owners did manage to convince ten Hag of the merits of a move to the North East of England, the Geordie outfit would still be required to fork over a considerable compensation package to their counterparts at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
This comes with the Dutchman still having two years to run on his contract with Ajax.
Ten Hag’s potential suitors will have to pull off something big to get Ajax boss as reputation enhanced further over weekend https://t.co/vXzuWaSLzo #nufc #mufc #ajax
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) October 25, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 9 | 20 | 22 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 9 | 21 | 21 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 9 | 16 | 20 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 9 | 6 | 17 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 9 | 0 | 15 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | -4 | 15 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 9 | 1 | 14 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 9 | 1 | 14 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 9 | 0 | 14 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 9 | -3 | 14 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 9 | 0 | 13 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 9 | 2 | 12 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 9 | -2 | 10 |
| 14 | Watford FC | 9 | -5 | 10 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 9 | -3 | 9 |
| 16 | Southampton FC | 9 | -4 | 8 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 9 | -8 | 7 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 9 | -8 | 4 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 9 | -9 | 4 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 9 | -21 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 4 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
| Hwang, Hee-chan | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 4 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 3 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 3 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 3 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Veltman, Joel | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 4 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 4 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 3 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 3 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 3 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 0 | 3 |
| Saiss, Romain | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 3 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 2 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Grealish, Jack | Manchester City | 2 |
