Man United's star players warned of 'big problems' if they don't adapt to Ten Hag

The former Liverpool winger, who played under Ten Hag at Ajax, has also told talkSPORT he agrees with the Dutchman's comparisons to Pep Guardiola.

Ten Hag has reportedly 'reached an agreement in principle' to become United's next boss with a four-year contract likely to follow.

The Ajax boss appears to have beaten off competition from Paris Saint-Germain's Mauricio Pochettino for one of the most sought after, but difficult, jobs in football.

Five full-time managers have taken the role since Sir Alex Ferguson's 2013 retirement, but none of them have come close to taking United back where they want to be - winning league titles and the Champions League.

Ten Hag, though, comes with an intriguing background, having won two Dutch league titles and cups, as well as crafting a side that made it to the Champions League semi-finals.

Babel played under Ten Hag in 2020 and was impressed by what he saw, but had a warning for Cristiano Ronaldo and co.

"It's an interesting move," the former Liverpool forward told talkSPORT. "Obviously I've worked with Ten Hag at Ajax, he's a very good coach.

"But at the same time I think football style-wise, Dutch-minded, Man United had Louis van Gaal before and people have mixed feelings about his time there.

"In my opinion, and I'm sure he would say the same, I don't think he [Van Gaal] had all the players that he wanted that could execute his vision of playing how he wanted to play.

"That's why it will be interesting to see if Ten Hag will have the tools and will get the tools in order to acquire the players that can execute his vision.

"He's very demanding in how he wants to play, and with all due respect, a player who doesn't necessarily understand his way of playing, even though he can be a big name, can cause problems.

"It will be interesting to see how that will play out."

A number of United's high-earners have come under fire for below-par performances this season, including Ronaldo, with reports now claiming Ten Hag wants rid of him.

In Babel's view, Van Gaal wasn't able to execute such demands during his two years at Old Trafford, where he won an FA Cup before making way for Jose Mourinho.

Van Gaal has had an iconic managerial career where he's managed the the Netherlands, Bayern Munich, as well as Barcelona.

It was at the latter where he coached Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who Ten Hag has drawn comparisons to.

Ten Hag worked with Bayern's youth team whilst Guardiola led the senior side, and Babel believes the two are intertwined with Van Gaal.

"I understand why they say that [Ten Hag is the new Guardiola]," he explained. "That's why I also used Louis van Gaal's name.

"If you look at the whole history of these coaches Pep Guardiola is of course from Barcelona but he worked under Dutch coaches who were able to bring Barcelona at that time to a certain level and a certain playing style and he used that in his style.

"You can see many interviews where he admires Johan Cruyff and these types of coaches so it's all in the same bracket, and of course at the end they all add their own flavour to it but it's pretty much in the same bracket."

It's now been five years since United last lifted silverware, and as they attempt to navigate their way out of the mire, they will be hoping their next appointment from the Dutch school of coaching is far more Pep than Louis.