Erik ten Hag to copy Marco Silva with ‘surprise’ new job after Bayer Leverkusen disaster

Erik ten Hag’s new job has come as a surprise – but he could be following Marco Silva’s pathway to rebuild his reputation.

That is the verdict from European football broadcaster Andy Brassell, who believes his new role may have been the only one that’s available.

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Ten Hag was officially unveiled as FC Twente’s new technical director this week, returning to the club where he made his name as a player.

The former Manchester United boss had been out of work since his brutal axing by Bayer Leverkusen in September.

Ten Hag was sacked by the Bundesliga club just three games into his tenure, which came less than a year after his Old Trafford dismissal.

The Dutchman was shortlisted for the Wolves job before Rob Edwards emerged as the club’s top candidate to replace Vítor Pereira.

Ten Hag also emerged as a candidate to replace John Heitinga at old team Ajax, but has now swapped the dugout for the boardroom.

The 55-year-old will join Twente from February 1, but he will not begin his technical director role until the start of next season.

Ten Hag’s surprising new job

Trans Euro Express pundit Brassell exclusively told talkSPORT.com: “It’s really curious, Ten Hag taking this job as Technical Director of FC Twente, because he’s talked with teams about taking other jobs.

“Of course, he talked with Ajax about going there as coach, and because he didn’t feel that the right sporting management was in place, he didn’t take those jobs.

“So, it’s interesting that he’s put himself forward to become the guy who he wanted to work with for someone else, I suppose.”

Brassell continued: “He’s always felt like a really authentic coach to me.

“So, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll translate into being a sporting director.

“And some of the best sporting directors we’ve seen in Europe have either never played the game to any sort of standards.

“For me, it feels as if Ten Hag has taken this job. Not necessarily because it’s his calling, but because it’s the job that’s available at the moment.

“Maybe it’ll help him. Maybe it’ll add another string to his bow. Maybe it’ll enable him to take on a job that he wants in the future.

“And if he doesn’t have the perfect CEO and sporting director there, he will feel that he can do the job anyway.

“I think if you look at someone like Marco Silva. Going back earlier in his career, he was a sporting director before he was a coach.”

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‘Marco Silva understands angles of the game’

The now-Fulham boss became Estoril’s Director of Football in 2011 after retiring as a player, before leading the team to promotion.

Brassell continued: “Then he went on to build his reputation at Sporting from there.

“And so, he understands angles of the game that not necessarily every head coach, slash manager, understands.

“So, maybe in that sense, it’ll be beneficial to Eric ten Hag. But it’s a little bit of a surprise for me that he took that job.”

Over a decade after his stint as a director of football, Silva is now one of the most accomplished managers in the Premier League.

Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno backed his manager to get a job with a ‘big club’ during an exclusive interview with talkSPORT last month.

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talkSPORT understands Fulham have been weighing up Silva’s future as tensions mount behind the scenes at Craven Cottage.

The Portuguese coach has been reluctant to sign a new deal, and, as it stands, he will be a free agent at the end of the season.

The 48-year-old has been Fulham‘s boss since 2021 and last season led them to their highest ever Premier League points tally with 54 – which saw them finish the campaign in 11th place.