Erik Ten Hag will take over as Manchester United manager at the end of the season, the club has confirmed.

United have been without a permanent boss since Ole Gunna Solskjaer departed in November.

Both Michael Carrick, caretaker, and Ralf Ragnick, interim manager, have had stints in charge of the Old Trafford side since the Norwegian’s exit.

United have been interviewing with a view to appointing their new permanent manager before the summer to aid their much-needed rebuild, with Ten Hag chosen as the man to lead the club forward.

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The impressive Ajax boss is looking to wrap up a third Eredivisie title before moving to Old Trafford on a three-year deal, which includes the option of a further year.

Ten Hag said: “It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead.

“I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.

“It will be difficult to leave Ajax after these incredible years, and I can assure our fans of my complete commitment and focus on bringing this season to a successful conclusion before I move to Manchester United.”

Ten Hag met with United in March as the Premier League club spoke to candidates about the Old Trafford vacancy.

Long-admired Paris St Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino was initially considered the favourite to succeed Solskjaer, only for the Dutchman to get the nod having impressed the powers that be.

He has been with Ajax since January 2018 and will leave at the end of the season.

Edwin van der Sar, the former United goalkeeper who is now Ajax’s chief executive, said: “Four-and-a-half years is a good amount of time, but we would have liked to have kept Erik at Ajax for longer.

“He is going to make the step to one of the biggest clubs in the world, in a fantastic league.

“We owe Erik a lot of thanks for what he has achieved with Ajax so far, but we are not done yet. At the end of the season, I will look back more extensively on his departure.

“For now, what matters is the final games of the season in which we all want to bring home the league title.”