Eric Ramsay believes Manchester United have all the ingredients to go to the next level under Ineos – but Erik ten Hag’s former coach felt he had to leave for a dream first managerial job at Minnesota United.

The 32-year-old swapped Uniteds following March’s derby defeat at Manchester City, with his move to the Twin Cities seeing him become the youngest permanent manager in Major League Soccer history.

It is an exciting new chapter in an impressive coaching journey that led Ramsay to Swansea, Shrewsbury and Chelsea before joining Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching set-up in June 2021.

Initially focused on individual players and set-plays, the Welshman’s remit broadened over time and he is looking forward to putting his experiences into practice as Minnesota’s second-ever head coach.

“I have never been desperate to be a head coach by a certain age or a certain point,” Ramsay told the PA news agency ahead of his first match in charge against Los Angeles FC this weekend.

“But I felt naturally I was sort of gravitating toward that opportunity coming.

“I’ve had some opportunities over the course of the last two years to go into the Championship or League One and for whatever reason haven’t pursued those.

“The club itself is phenomenally well set up. The ownership is really stable. I think that’s incredibly attractive for a first-time head coach.

“From a club perspective, the league and the wider US context, in terms of the competitions being held here in the coming years, the general feel around the sport, I think it’s as perfect an opportunity as I’ll get.”

Ramsay also had a stint working with Wales during his time at United, where he felt like he squeezed in a lot at an institution that garners “endless attention” and “feels like no other club”.

The 32-year-old never got caught up in the background noise – “if you as a coach were to be too drawn into that then you’d lose focus on what you’re there to do” – and enjoyed his time there despite the difficult spells.

“To have the opportunity to be one step removed from three managers and Michael Carrick, working at Man United over two-and-a-half years, I don’t think you’re getting better preparation for your own role as head coach because it’s a really trying set of circumstances with a lot of intensity,” Ramsay said.

“(Erik) is obviously incredibly focused, has real conviction as to how he wants the team to play, how he feels the group should be managed, as you’d expect of anyone who hits that level as a manager.

“Obviously, he’s had some difficult circumstances to deal with this year, so hopefully once that gets cleaned up then we’re going to see the trajectory recaptured that we saw last year.”

Injuries have proven the main difficulty in a bumpy season and Ten Hag is under the spotlight heading into Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against rivals Liverpool.

But Ramsay is confident better times lie around the corner at Old Trafford, having been impressed by new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team.

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“As has been presented in the media and as I’m sure you’ve heard lots of people say, the Ineos vision for Man United is really exciting,” Ramsay said.

“They, as well, have a lot of conviction in how elite sports teams should look and feel.

“There is a genuine Ineos way that I think the combination of that and the way in which Erik wants to operate, it could be a really exciting combination.

“I think you’ve got some phenomenally bright people now attached to the club, through the likes of Dave Brailsford and the people that they will inevitably bring in to wrap around the existing structure.

“So, I do think all the ingredients are there for the club to really move on to the next level.

“I said this to the Ineos guys as I was leaving, I’m loathed in some senses (to go) because I think I was probably a nice fit for the way in which they wanted to go about things.

“I felt like it would take a lot from them and their way of working.

“But, personally, I felt like this opportunity from my individual perspective was one that I couldn’t turn down in spite of all that positivity around the club.”

Eric Ramsay has left Manchester United to join Minnesota United and become the youngest head coach in Major League Soccer history.

The 32-year-old Welshman, who was a first-team coach under Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, is the latest British coach to cross the Atlantic, joining the likes of Phil Neville and Dean Smith.

In a statement issued by Minnesota United, Ramsay said: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining a club with such a strong football culture, a fanatic fan-base and a brilliant infrastructure.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of the club’s staff throughout the process and you can’t help but feel everyone’s passion for moving the club forward.”

Ramsay joined Manchester United as a coach under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021 and also served as an assistant coach to the Welsh national team in 2023.

He started his career working with junior levels at Swansea and also acted as interim head coach at his home-town club Shrewsbury before moving to work with the Chelsea Under-23s.

Ramsay became the youngest British coach to earn his UEFA Pro Licence in 2019.

Minnesota’s Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad said: “After an extensive search that included dozens of impressive domestic and international candidates, we are confident that Eric Ramsay is the best choice to lead our club.

“His experience working with top-level players, coaches, and sporting staff at both the club and international level – as well as his alignment in playing style and development philosophy – all fit with the vision we have for the future of MNUFC.”

Eric Ramsay is set to take over at Minnesota United and become the latest British coach to take a management job in Major League Soccer.

The 32-year-old will become the youngest ever head coach in the United States and Canada’s top division when the Manchester United coach completes his move to the Twin Cities.

PA understands Ramsay has agreed a deal to take over at Minnesota following next weekend’s Manchester derby and the Welshman will swell the number of British head coaches in MLS to six.

Gary Smith is in charge of Nashville, John Herdman is at Toronto and ex-England international Phil Neville recently took charge at the Portland Timbers having previously managed Inter Miami.

Dean Smith, the former Aston Villa and Leicester boss, is another recent appointment by an MLS club having joined ambitious Charlotte FC in the winter.

The 52-year-old took charge of his first competitive match on Saturday as they won their season opener 1-0 at home to New York City FC, who are coached by fellow Englishman Nick Cushing.

“If somebody asked for my advice, I would say to anybody in England come to MLS,” Cushing, who previously managed Manchester City’s women’s team, said.

“Just purely based off, firstly, the challenge is like the Championship in the sense of its really competitive.

“The opportunity to win is there if you have a good strategy, good structure, good sort of way of working. You have to back your coaching, your staff and your recruitment.

“But also we’re playing in the Carolina Panthers stadium in front of 65,000. It’s amazing.

“The games never stop. The games will go for 96 minutes. They don’t die down. Apple TV, the infrastructure around this league is excellent, so I don’t think we can affect the perception on that end.

“I’m sure Dean will say in three, four, five months’ time that this was a great move for him because he will see that you get to see the whole of America, the challenge is great.”

Smith pipped former Chelsea and Everton boss Frank Lampard to the Charlotte post and British coaches of all ages are paying increasing attention to MLS.

“I’ve had a lot of people ask if I need any more coaches wanting to get out here,” the former Villa boss said.

“I’m still on the board of the LMA (League Managers Association) so I’ll do a talk for them on what it is like.”

There are also Brits in senior positions in MLS, including DC United’s Scottish general manager Ally Mackay and NYCFC sporting director David Lee.

The latter joined New York Red Bulls from hometown club Exeter in 2011 and then went on to become one of the first employees at NYCFC three years later.

Lee has seen marked change in approach during his time in MLS, from clubs being more open-minded to more experienced coaches wanting to move Stateside.

“I would say that five to seven years ago there was a perception that foreign coaches didn’t work,” Lee said.

“Over time, clubs started to realise that it’s not where you’re from, it is just how good you are. There is a core American coaching tree in MLS, but more clubs are being more adventurous.

“The level of our league has increased to where it becomes more interesting for English coaches than it would have been five years ago.

“The standard has improved, budgets have improved.

“I’d have been surprised if five years ago you could have got someone like Dean Smith into this league. That is a big change.”