Former Ajax and Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag is to become Twente Enschede’s new director of football from February.

Ten Hag will take up his post full-time from the start of next season, succeeding Erik Jan Streuer, managing director Dominique Scholten said on the club’s website.

“Erik has an incredible track record in football and has always had very strong ties with FC Twente,” Scholten said.

Ten Hag started and ended his 13-year playing career at Twente, having grown up 12km away in Haaksbergen. He played a total of 176 matches for the Overijssel club and began his coaching career by training Twente’s youth team.

The 55-year-old said he was “keen to help Twente with my experience in national and international professional football and build on the club’s strong foundations.”

Leverkusen sacking

The coach has not worked since being sacked by Bayer Leverkusen just two matches into his first season in August, after falling out with the management over the need to buy new players.

During his five years at Ajax he won three Eredivisie titles and steered the team to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019, knocking out Real Madrid and Juventus along the way.

He left Amsterdam in 2022 to become head coach of Manchester United, but despite finishing third in the Premier League in his first season and winning the FA Cup the following year he was dismissed in October 2024.

Ten Hag turned down an offer to return to Amsterdam last November following the sacking of John Heitinga as head coach. Ajax are still looking for a permanent successor to Francesco Farioli, who left the club at the end of last season.