Erik ten Hag: Manchester United boss remains in dark over future as club’s review enters final stages

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is still on holiday and remains in the dark about his future as the club’s end-of-season review enters the final stages.

Manchester United’s review, which includes a decision on whether to keep Ten Hag as manager, is still ongoing.

As far as Ten Hag is concerned, he is the Manchester United manager with a year left on his contract.

But the longer the review goes on the more potentially concerning it becomes for the Dutchman, who led the Red Devils to FA Cup glory last month.

A decision on the 54-year-old’s future could come in the next week as Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS team near the final stages of the process.

Sky Sports News reported in May that Gareth Southgate was sounded out about the possibility of becoming Manchester United manager one day – but he had no interest in engaging in any conversation that was not about his job as England boss.

Southgate is on good terms with INEOS director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford and he worked closely at the FA with incoming Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth.

‘It doesn’t feel right what Ten Hag is going through’

Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:

“Are we any closer to a decision? I think we are getting there, but the pace is pretty slow.

“Erik ten Hag doesn’t know if he’s going to be the Manchester United manager next season, but he knows he’s the United manager at the moment, he’s got a year left on his contract and he’s ready to come back and resume work at the club.

“But the longer this post-season review goes on, the more concerning it becomes for Ten Hag, and you couldn’t blame him for thinking something doesn’t smell quite right here. What is going on? Why are we having another review? Why is the review taking this long? Why do I not know where I stand?

“The review is in the final stages and a decision could come within the next week, but I think a lot of people in football will be feeling a little bit for Ten Hag because it doesn’t quite feel right what he’s going through at the moment.”

Who could replace Ten Hag if he is sacked?

Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:

“The names in the frame are people like Thomas Tuchel, the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea manager. There’s also Mauricio Pochettino, who is now a free agent after leaving Chelsea. Both of them would be very interested in the job if it was available.

“There’s also the Gareth Southgate factor. We know that Southgate is somebody who’s close to Sir Dave Brailsford and to Dan Ashworth.

“Potentially this could be his final tournament as the England manager. The only issue is, if United were going to say goodbye to Ten Hag and if they wanted to bring in Southgate, he has made it very, very clear that he is not going to talk to anyone or about anything until after the Euros, which is his total and utter focus.

“I think it would be complicated if United wanted to bring in Southgate, but of course he is another name that’s potentially in the frame if somebody tells Ten Hag that they’re moving in a different direction.”

Evans: Ten Hag a ‘top-class manager’

Manchester United defender Jonny Evans has praised Ten Hag and is supportive of the man who brought him back to Old Trafford.

Speaking on international duty for Northern Ireland, the 36-year-old said: “I think he is a top-class manager.

“The thing that keeps me going, especially, is learning about the game and I learnt an awful lot last season with different styles of playing the game and I learnt a lot of things from the manager, Ten Hag, so that was quite an eye opener for me.

“I feel like he has got some great ideas about the game of football.”

It was notable that Evans went out of his way to ensure Ten Hag had a moment to lift the FA Cup trophy during the celebrations at Wembley following their 2-1 win over City.

“I passed the trophy down to the manager because they were trying to get us off (the presentation area) to go and celebrate on the pitch,” Evans said. “I passed it to the guy beside me and I saw the manager further on and I didn’t want him to miss out on that moment.

“I felt like it was a big moment for him. I’m glad he got to lift it like that. The manager was great for me, brought me back in and showed a lot of faith in me, so it was nice he was able to have that moment.”