Dutch coach confirms he's joining Erik ten Hag's backroom staff at Manchester United

Dutch coach Rene Hake has confirmed that he will be joining Manchester United as an assistant manager. The 52-year-old coach decided to leave his position as head coach of Go Ahead Eagles to join Erik ten Hag's backroom staff at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag and Hake spent time working together in the Netherlands, which means they already have a working relationship. It comes as minority owners INEOS made the decision to retain Ten Hag, despite a subpar season that saw United finish eighth in the Premier League.

With Ten Hag now set to stay for at least another year, moves have been made to sign Dutch coaches, including Hake. Reports from Fabrizio Romano have made it clear that Red Devils legend Ruud van Nistelrooy will also join up with Ten Hag as part of his backroom staff.

Hake has confirmed his exit from Go Ahead Eagles, as reports from the Netherlands (via Utd District) revealed that he had spoken about it. The manager joined up with his team at the training ground, as the move had not yet been finalised. However, it would take "something very strange" for his move to Old Trafford to fail.

Asked why he showed up to Go Ahead's training ground, Hake said (via Utd District):

"I owe it to them."

Further talking about the transfer to Manchester United, he added:

“It is not in the back of your mind but in your forehead. It can’t get any crazier, right?”

Hake went on to call it "a great opportunity", and that he's looking forward to reuniting with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.

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Manchester United set to sign defensive targets: David Ornstein

Journalist David Ornstein has revealed that Manchester United are looking to sign their defensive targets. There are two players on the list: Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and Bayern Munich defender Mattijs de Ligt.

He explained that the Red Devils are particularly looking at De Ligt with considerable seriousness (via The People's Person):

“Manchester United are seriously considering a move to sign Matthijs de Ligt. ... Club-to-club negotiations are yet to take place, and there is no certainty the move will happen, however he has emerged as a concrete target.”

As for Branthwaithe, he noted that the De Ligt move is more of a likely option than the Everton defender. That's likely due to Everton's high asking price of £70 million, which they have set as the benchmark to let the 22-year-old centre-back leave.