Manchester United have announced that Erik ten Hag will take over at the club come the end of the season, signing a three-year deal with the club with the option of a further year.

The Ajax boss will take over a club in crisis, with a squad suiting a myriad of styles and plenty who seemingly don’t want to be there, or who won’t be there come the summer.

And, with the club currently struggling to make Europa League football next season, and Roy Keane claiming that ‘it’s not the club I played for’ after their 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool, there is plenty of work to be done.

So, where does Ten Hag need to start, and where should his priorities lie?

🇳🇱 Made in the Netherlands. Ready for Manchester.

🔴 Erik ten Hag’s next step is United.#MUFC || #WelcomeErik pic.twitter.com/SwsCwFja10

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 21, 2022

1. Sort his relationship with Ralf Rangnick

When Ralf Rangnick’s arrival to take interim charge of the club was announced, a key footnote surrounded his future beyond the end of the season.

“Ralf and the club have agreed that he will continue in a consultancy role for a further two years,” Manchester United revealed in their announcement, though they never went into any great detail as to what that role would entail exactly.

As per the Athletic, ten Hag ‘is not expecting to have total control of club affairs’, but will need to be supported in the transfer market with smart signings rather than big names. For this, he and Rangnick will need to be on the same page, a likelihood given that the pair lean towards similar styles of football, but not a given.

Should there be a power struggle in Manchester come the end of the season, the club need to ensure that they back their newest horse as he looks to recover the club from its darkest times since the 1980s.

2. Figure out the future of his forward line

Manchester United are in a mess all over the pitch, but perhaps their backwards thinking is clearest in the forward roles.

Edinson Cavani is expected to leave this summer when his contract ends, while Anthony Martial was sent on loan to Sevilla in January, where he is yet to register a La Liga goal under Julien Lopetegui.

Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has been shown the cold shoulder to the point where he is now reportedly considering a move away, with the likes of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes both chosen to play as a striker over the Englishman.

🗣️ “Lingard is not good enough for #MUFC…Rashford played like a child.”

Roy Keane says there’s ‘no team’ at Manchester United ❌ pic.twitter.com/5bM25lp5dy

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2022

This has left Cristiano Ronaldo as their only reliable source of goals, a 37-year-old who pines for Champions League football and, despite his goalscoring returns, doesn’t really suit the style of play that Manchester United are likely to try and play under ten Hag.

A new striker or two seem to be a necessity this summer, but they need to be more than just big-name players. Beyond scoring goals, they need to fit the style that the club is looking to implement, and if those currently at the club do not, the club may have to be willing to accept losses and move on.

Such are the consequences of a complete rebuild at a big club.

3. Rebuilding the relationship with the fanbase

One thing that went when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was shown the Old Trafford exit door in October was any semblance of relationship between the club and the fans.

The club legend in charge of the club was in no way immune to criticism, but was viewed through rose-tinted glasses as a man who had created history at the club, and who only wanted to see his former side succeed.

Paul Pogba’s reaction when he was booed by his own fans 😕 pic.twitter.com/yn9SmqK5p1

— GOAL Africa (@GOALAfrica) April 16, 2022

That is now gone. Pogba and Harry Maguire are two who have felt the ire of the fans the most, but there is very little love lost between the current squad and the fanbase inside the stadiums and across the globe. That needs to change.

And it isn’t just results that will change that. It is desire, commitment, and performance that will go a long way to healing the wound long before results and trophies do. In short, the club needs to find the identity that it has been lacking for over a decade now. ten Hag’s biggest task may be trying to rediscover that.

4. Instil his philosophy in the side

The sort of football that ten Hag will want to play, and the style that he ends up playing in the early days of his reign could be very different.

As per the Athletic, “ten Hag likes a high-pressing possession game, with emphasis on wide players”, but United are short on wide players, and they have been caught out time and time again trying to press high this season.

Even with the 10 players that Rangnick has suggested could join the Red Devils this summer, there are much deeper problems with those likely to remain, meaning that tweaks to the finished article will need to be made as he continues squad turnover.

#MUFC interim manager Ralf Rangnick says up to 10 new players are needed for the club’s impending rebuild after their “humiliating” 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool 🔴

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 20, 2022

Just how effective ten Hag’s problem solving is will ultimately decide whether he warrants keeping his job, but the task is undeniably a daunting one.

5. Solve the Harry Maguire conundrum

Manchester United’s captain, and their second most-expensive signing ever behind Pogba, Maguire has been woeful this season however you dress it up.

The Englishman has featured in 28 of the 33 games that the Red Devils have played so far this season, a key part of a defence that has now conceded more goals than relegation-threatened Burnley.

The reliable Melissa Reddy reporting that “there is growing internal sentiment that Harry Maguire cannot be the leader of Man Utd’s backline.”

If he can’t lead our backline (which he has failed in), then he surely can’t lead the team as captain. Time for a change. pic.twitter.com/4wtBPe5nb9

— UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) April 21, 2022

His performances for United and the national team are like night and day, and the high line that the Red Devils are planning to use will only continue to widen that gap.

However, whether Manchester United would be willing to take what would be a massive loss on their club captain and offload him is another matter, especially with the centre-back position looking very light at the moment. ten Hag needs to find a way to either play to his strengths, or jettison the Englishman.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Liverpool FC	32	61	76
2	Manchester City	31	52	74
3	Chelsea FC	30	41	62
4	Tottenham Hotspur	32	18	57
5	Arsenal FC	31	8	54
6	Manchester United	33	4	54
7	West Ham United	33	9	52
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	32	5	49
9	Leicester City	30	-4	40
10	Brighton & Hove Albion	32	-8	40
11	Brentford FC	33	-8	39
12	Southampton FC	32	-14	39
13	Crystal Palace	31	3	37
14	Newcastle United	32	-19	37
15	Aston Villa	31	-4	36
16	Leeds United	32	-30	33
17	Everton FC	30	-19	28
18	Burnley FC	31	-19	25
19	Watford FC	32	-32	22
20	Norwich City	32	-44	21

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	17
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	15
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	14
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	12
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	11
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	11
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	10
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	10
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	10
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	10
Raphinha	Leeds United	10
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	10
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	9
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	9

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	9
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	9
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	8
Cash, Matty	Aston Villa	0	8
McGinn, John	Aston Villa	0	8
Rice, Declan	West Ham United	0	8
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	8
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	8
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United	0	8
Romeu, Oriol	Southampton FC	0	8
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	7

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	12
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	9
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	8
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	7
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	7
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	6
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	6
Maddison, James	Leicester City	6
Benrahma, Said	West Ham United	6
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	6
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	6
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	5