Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Jelle ten Rouwelaar as first-team goalkeeping coach.
The Athletic reported on July 4 that the Old Trafford club were to hire the 43-year-old, who spent last season in the Premier League at Burnley.
He arrives as part of a shake-up in manager Erik ten Hag’s backroom team, with Ten Rouwelaar expected to work closely with goalkeepers with Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir, and Tom Heaton.
“Jelle is experienced with English football and he has some great innovations in goalkeeping, a new approach and it’s very interesting,” Ten Hag said.
“I’m convinced he will really help our game, as a team, but especially the keepers, as a squad, as a team, their position in the team and how they’re aligned with the rest of the team and playing as a collective.”
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Ten Rouwelaar had agreed to join Ajax two months ago after Vincent Kompany left Burnley for Bayern Munich, but the Dutchman will be extending his stay in England.
He is recognised as a modern goalkeeping coach, known for implementing training sessions that supported Kompany’s system of playing out from the back. In his first season, Burnley thrived in the Championship with an expansive style of football, although they struggled in the Premier League and were subsequently relegated.
Kompany initially hired Ten Rouwelaar at Anderlecht in 2020 and brought him to Burnley in 2022. Ten Rouwelaar was also a goalkeeper coach for the Netherlands’ Under-20 side during the 2018-19 season.
As a player, he spent the majority of his career at NAC Breda, making more than 300 league appearances, primarily in the Eredivisie, before retiring in 2016. Craig Mawson, who joined United in 2019 as deputy goalkeeping coach, will remain at the club, while Richard Hartis, who has been United’s goalkeeping coach since 2019, is set to depart.
Earlier this month, United also confirmed the appointments of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake as assistant managers, with Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy leaving the club. Steve McClaren and Darren Fletcher both remain on Ten Hag’s staff.
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