After a difficult two-year stint at Manchester United, the Netherlands coach claimed that the club is more of a commercial entity than a football club. While it's difficult to argue with that, show me a modern-day top-tier European club that doesn't also fall into that category.

Perhaps it is fair to say that the Red Devils and their owners, the Glazers, have had a rocky relationship since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure. When David Moyes took over at Manchester United, it was even said that Ferguson didn't do him any favors by handing him such an underwhelming group, but if anything, this is a reminder of what a truly top manager can accomplish even when the circumstances aren't ideal.

Van Gaal will no likely remain dissatisfied with the way he was treated by the Manchester United team, despite the fact that the Dutchman was probably aware of Jose Mourinho's potential replacement weeks or perhaps months in advance. Even a victory in the FA Cup final couldn't keep him from being fired by the club just two days later.

Man Utd won the FA Cup in Louis van Gaal's farewell game.

We may speak about the lack of class shown by Manchester United in their treatment of LVG all day long, but there's little doubt that he would have gotten better treatment if he'd done a better job. In his second season in charge, the football was slow, uninteresting, and saw the club fall out of the top four.

They will point out how poorly every manager after Ferguson has performed at United, but the essential difference between them and Ten Hag is that they just weren't very good at their jobs.

Moyes was completely out of his depth, Van Gaal was brought in well after his peak years in management, and the same could be said for Jose Mourinho. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was brought in as a sentimental appointment that could only go so far once he'd outlived his initial job of 'lifting the mood' in the dressing room, and he was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

None of these are comparable to Ten Hag, who is a genuine visionary in the way he approaches the game as a football coach. Several of Europe's major clubs have long admired his Ajax teams for their excellent football. If Manchester United are serious about bringing in someone who can apply a winning ideology and improve the club's culture, he appears to be a good choice to make.

He may be tempted to reconsider taking the position in light of Van Gaal's advice, but the 52-year-old should have a little more confidence in his abilities and avoid becoming embroiled in the verbal battle that Van Gaal and Mourinho have been embroiled in with the club's management in the past few weeks.

Despite all of United's problems, the club remains a massive name in world football, with an iconic stadium, a fantastic atmosphere, and a world-class academy – if Ten Hag honestly believes he is too talented for a role like that, then he is most certainly not the appropriate guy for the job.

But what other opportunities do he have right now that he could take advantage of? Managers at the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich are unlikely to be replaced anytime soon. For the time being, Arsenal and Barcelona appear to be in decent form with their relatively rookie head managers. Thomas Tuchel will almost certainly be retained by the club if the takeover is successful, and the position would be unappealing for Ten Hag if the takeover is unsuccessful. Even if Tottenham loses Antonio Conte, they are in the same state as Manchester United, albeit without the wonderful heritage. You shouldn't be too choosy about where he plays; Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are probably even worse fits for him than Manchester United.

In a similar vein to when Jurgen Klopp took over at Liverpool, there is a tremendous potential to construct a top-tier team in this situation. There's no quick fix, but even with all the problems the club has faced over the last nine years, their biggest difficulty has always been the incorrect manager being hired. When his predecessors failed, Ten Hag may be able to succeed where they failed.