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Manchester United assistant Eric Ramsay in line to be Minnesota United’s next head coach

andy greder, pioneer press
·3 min read

Minnesota United appears to have its next head coach. Finally.

After a four-month wait, the Loons are in the concluding stages of signing a multi-year contract with Eric Ramsay, the Pioneer Press confirmed Monday morning.

Fabrizio Romano, an international reporter who broke the news, said Ramsay, a current Manchester United assistant coach, is Minnesota’s top target. MLS insider Tom Bogert added Ramsay, 32, would be the youngest full-time head coach in league history.

Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad had been progressing in an extensive, “tough” and multi-step search process for weeks, and it recently reached a finalist stage with a few domestic and foreign candidates, the Pioneer Press understands. El-Ahmad and CEO Shari Ballard have been combing over the short list of candidates to begin to play the high-pressing style preferred by El-Ahmad.

Ramsay, who is from Wales, has been an assistant coach with Manchester United since July 2021. He briefly was an assistant for the Wales men’s national team in 2023.

Wales national coach Rob Page said last March that Ramsay is “arguably one of the best young coaches in football at this moment in time.” Ramsay also has been described as “demanding and energetic” and a strong communicator.

At Manchester United, he was hired to be a set-piece specialist and individual development coach under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and he has remained on Eric ten Hag’s current staff. He remained at Manchester United during in-between stints under one caretaker and one interim manager as well.

Last March, ten Hag called Ramsay “a really talented coach, and he is progressing a lot.”

If Ramsey signs a deal with MNUFC, there does not appear to be impediments for when Ramsay can join MNUFC despite Manchester United currently in a push to finish top four in the English Premier League this season. The Red Devils currently are sixth in the standings.

The Loons are also hopeful Ramsay’s visa situation and immigration process can be sorted quickly.

Before Man United, Ramsay coached the Chelsea Under-23 team and was the head coach at Shrewsbury Town in EFL League One. He was an academy coach at both Shewsbury Town and Swansea City.

The Athletic reported Blackpool and Swansea have made recent attempts to hire Ramsay.

El-Ahmad is familiar with Ramsay from his time as CEO and sporting director at Barnsley in England, El-Ahmad’s previous stop before MNUFC. The coaching search didn’t begin in earnest until after El-Ahmad’s hire. He started full-time work with the Loons in mid-December.

Ramsay speaks multiple languages, including Spanish and French, a preference of El-Ahmad. Ramsay, like El-Ahmad, is studious and has been pursuing different coaching licenses and his PhD. He holds a UEFA Pro License.

MNUFC has been without a permanent head coach since firing manager Adrian Heath near the end of his seventh season in October. The Loons played the final two games of the 2023 season under interim head coach Sean McAuley, missing the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018. McAuley led the Loons into the offseason before exiting and taking the head coach role at Indy Eleven in the USL Championship.

Interim head coach Cameron Knowles, the previous MNUFC2 head coach, has been in charge of the MLS team throughout preseason, with the season opener Saturday night at Austin FC. Knowles is expected to be on the sideline with the Loons in Texas this weekend.

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