He turned down two offers from Newcastle in January and April ... and will only take the job because he was SACKED by Derby County.
So will he bring to Newcastle that he couldn't do at Nottingham Forest and Derby County?
And let's not forget that he said TWO TIMES EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS Nottingham Forest were "not big enough for his ambitions."
McClaren will be confirmed as the club’s head coach next week, and has already contacted one well-regarded local coach about joining his team in some capacity.
But he will wait to speak to John Carver, Andy Woodman and Steve Stone when he returns from holiday before deciding on the exact composition of his backroom team – with United’s goalkeeper coach weighing up the possibility of moving to Crystal Palace.
Apparently, United intend to add six first team players to their squad this summer with QPR’s Charlie Austin a priority target .
West Brom’s Berahino, who is unsettled at the Hawthorns, is another option for United.
They also wanted Danny Ings, but he has chosen Liverpool.
Newcastle are also looking at Van Ginkel, who spent last season at AC Milan. They were in the running for him when he originally signed for Chelsea.