‘It’s no secret’ – Erik ten Hag admits Man United spoke to former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel

Erik ten Hag has revealed he was aware Manchester United had spoken to other managers – including former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel – before deciding to stick with him. The Dutchman has also revealed he was on holiday in Ibiza when members of the United hierarchy arrived to inform him they wanted him to stay in the role.

Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Tuchel and England’s Gareth Southgate were among those linked with the position after United could only finish eighth in the Premier League last season.

Speaking on Dutch TV channel NOS, Ten Hag said: “As in any organisation, and that seems very sensible to me, there is an evaluation. “Conclusions were drawn from there. The new leadership is playing football for the first time.”

On United speaking other managers, including Tuchel, Ten Hag said: “That’s no secret. Everyone has heard that they have spoken to several candidates. In the Netherlands that is not done.

“You are not even allowed to talk to another club if there is a current trainer there. But in England the rules and laws are different. But in the end they came to the conclusion that they have the best trainer.

“The club management came to me while I was on holiday in Ibiza. They suddenly showed up on my doorstep and told me they wanted to continue with me.

open talks with Crystal Palace over £60m transfer “We had a good discussion and various topics were discussed. One of the conclusions is that we will extend the contract. But we still have to reach an agreement. This isn’t easily done – we are still going to have to talk about this.”