Former Ajax ace Kenneth Perez is backing the Eredivisie giants to consider bringing back Erik ten Hag as pressure rises on the Manchester United boss following another Champions League defeat.
Less than two years ago, Erik ten Hag's Ajax side topped their very own Champions' League group, winning six games out of six, scoring 20 goals along the way and handing out vicious beatings to Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon.
Manchester United may be in no position to boat a similarly hefty points tally this term - the Red Devils have lost successive group-stage games versus Bayern Munich and Galatasaray - but Ten Hag's past success in the same competition, while in charge of a far less-deep-pocketed side no less, remains proof of his tactical chops.
There is, however, the danger of Ten Hag becoming increasingly reliant on past success to keep the wolf from the door. Life in the present, after all, is certainly proving challenging. Wednesday's 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray meaning United have lost more home games this season already than in the entirety of 2022/23 alone.
Erik ten Hag's Manchester United lose again
Things at Ten Hag's former employers, meanwhile, are hardly going much better. Ajax are not even a Champions League team these days, while stumbling along in 15 th place domestically after their worst start to a season since 1965.
There are, as of yet, no suggestions that Ten Hag's job is under threat at Old Trafford. In fact, both Fabrizio Romano and The Guardian are reporting precisely the opposite.
But Perez, who played 43 games across two spells at Ajax as a midfielder, is not the only one who would welcome Ten Hag back with open arms should a worse-case scenario become a reality in Manchester.
A season to forget for Ajax too
"Imagine if Erik ten Hag were fired," Perez muses, via Voetbalpraat . "Would it be very crazy for Ajax to invite him back?
"Manchester United is known for the fact that things can get difficult if things don't go well. It's not a crazy idea, is it?"
While Ten Hag retains the support of most Manchester United fans - and the board, it seems - a continuation of recent results will see some rather awkward questions tumble out of the mouths of even the Dutchman's biggest backers.
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