Manchester United’s end-of-season review is finally over and it has been decided that Erik ten Hag will remain as manager.
The news broke late on Tuesday night that Ten Hag will stay at Old Trafford and the Dutchman is set to earn a contract extension, despite recent fears that he would be dismissed following a turbulent 2023/24 season.
Ten Hag’s current deal ends at the end of next season, with the club having the option of triggering a 12-month extension.
It is understood that Ten Hag’s FA Cup triumph and the squad’s injury issues were big factors in the decision, though Ineos were also happy with the way the manager has conducted himself throughout a difficult period.
United and Ten Hag are said to be aligned after the club’s season review, a process which lasted longer than two weeks and saw other managers sounded out for the role.
None of the candidates sounded like a better fit for the role than Ten Hag.
However, Ineos will be making changes to the deal United have in place with Ten Hag.
Freelance journalist Peter Hall claims the Dutchman will take a back seat when it comes to recruitment moving forward. This could be a way to stop SEG (the agent representing Ten Hag) from pulling United’s strings in the transfer market.
Ten Hag has been criticised for a number of his signings since becoming manager, with Antony looking like one of the club’s most expensive flops. That said, Ten Hag also signed Lisandro Martinez and Rasmus Hojlund.
No excuses next season
United’s league form must improve next season and the objective needs to be getting back into the Champions League.
After finishing eighth in the Premier League last term, it shouldn’t be hard to do better next term – but it needs to be a lot better.
At least Ten Hag gets the chance to show what more he is capable of within the new sporting structure implement following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos taking charge of football operations.
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