The Manchester City boss, who worked at Bayern Munich with the potential target of Old Trafford rivals, hails his impact at the Dutch champions Ajax
Pep Guardiola says no manager is guaranteed to bring success but has heralded the record of Manchester United candidate Erik ten Hag.
The Ajax coach has emerged as one of the leading contenders to take over at Old Trafford in the summer.
Manchester City boss Guardiola worked with Ten Hag when he was in charge of Bayern Munich and the Dutchman coached the second team and says his quality is clear from the teams he has coached.
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“If I was 100% sure I would call Manchester United and tell those guys you have to take him. But I don’t know and nobody knows,” Guardiola said when asked if Ten Hag would be a success in the Premier League.
“He is a good manager, there’s no doubt about it. But so were all the previous managers since Sir Alex Ferguson left.
“You cannot say David Moyes is not a good football manager and the others like Jose Mourinho or right now. All the managers that have been at United are excellent.”
GOAL has confirmed that Ten Hag has been interviewed by United officials over the prospect of taking over at Old Trafford next season.
However, the 52-year-old is not the only man on the club's shortlist to replace the interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
Mauricio Pochettino has long been linked with the United job and is still in the frame, especially as he has come under more pressure at Paris Saint-Germain following their Champions League elimination.
Ten Hag, who has won two Dutch league and cup doubles during his five years in Amsterdam, has come through the same system that produced Guardiola’s mentor Johan Cruyff.
“The relationship we had was incredibly good and we would chat about football, the second team or whatever and he’s an exceptional guy,” he said.
“He’s from the Ajax culture. Ajax is one of the teams - maybe the team - that has an incredible mythology and tradition in the way they play. It doesn’t matter the manager, ever since Rinus Michels and Stefan Kovacs and the Johan Cruyff period, they continued the legacy and they’ve always tried to do what they believe.”