Erik ten Hag's tenure at Bayer Leverkusen has come to an abrupt end, with the club announcing his dismissal after just three games in charge. The decision was made following concerns regarding the former Manchester United manager's capability to lead the team's rebuild after a significant departure of key players during the summer.
Leverkusen's sporting director, Simon Rolfes, acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, stating that "nobody wanted to take this step". However, he added that the preceding weeks had indicated that building a successful team with the current setup was not feasible. The club has expressed confidence in the team's quality and vowed to pursue further development under new leadership.
The 55-year-old Ten Hag was appointed in May as the successor to Xabi Alonso, who departed to manage Real Madrid. He was entrusted with the task of managing a major overhaul of the squad that had clinched the Bundesliga title in 2024.
Ten Hag's brief stint included a 2-1 home defeat against Hoffenheim in his Bundesliga debut and a 3-3 draw against Werder Bremen, where Leverkusen relinquished a two-goal lead despite Bremen playing with ten men. Prior to the second league game, Kicker magazine reported that Leverkusen's management was already having reservations about Ten Hag's work.
Chief executive Fernando Carro commented that while parting ways so early in the season was regrettable, it was deemed necessary.
Earlier in the month, Ten Hag cautioned that he was "no magician" and that it would require time for Leverkusen to perform as a cohesive unit following the summer changes. He made this remark before his debut against Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the German Cup, a match Leverkusen won 4-0, albeit with difficulty against a team that had two players sent off. Ten Hag had previously used the "Harry Potter" analogy during his time at Manchester United.
Sky Germany reports that Marco Rose is a potential candidate to succeed Erik ten Hag as head coach. Rose has previously coached Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Ten Hag becomes the third former Manchester United manager to be dismissed in recent weeks, following José Mourinho at Fenerbahce and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Besiktas.
