Players surprised as Erik ten Hag set for two-year extension at Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag is staying put at Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag is likely to be offered a two-year contract extension to his current deal at Manchester United. It was decided, after a meeting on Tuesday, that Ten Hag would remain at the club following months of uncertainty over his future.
It’s believed United players only found out the club had decided to keep Ten Hag when news broke publicly. Players last week thought Ten Hag would leave the club and still believed that was the most likely scenario after United completed their end-of-season review.
Most of United’s players are with their respective international camps, which meant they were largely kept out of the loop. Most of the players are said to be pleased the uncertainty over United’s managerial situation has now been ended and that the club can now move on with their summer plans.
Erik ten Hag to remain as Manchester United manager after performance review
The Dutchman has agreed to talks over a new extended contract. A preliminary discussion suggests they have not reached details over the length of a deal. There is an expectation, however, it will be two more years.
Ten Hag arrived on a three-year deal in 2022 which included United holding an option to extend for a further 12 months, meaning his contract runs out on June 30, 2025. But it is set to be superseded by a deal for another two years, meaning he will have three years left to run from the end of this month.
Ten Hag was disappointed that United spoke to other managers during their review but accepted his future was in doubt and does not believe that he has been fatally undermined.
A new contract is a natural consequence of United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe deciding he wants Ten Hag to carry on. It would be awkward for the manager to go into the final 12 months of his contract, given the speculation.
United held talks with Thomas Tuchel, who has decided he will take a break from football after leaving Bayern Munich, and met with representatives of Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
There were also discussions over Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto de Zerbi, while Kieran McKenna chose to sign a new contract at newly promoted Ipswich Town.
In the end, the club’s hierarchy, led by Ratcliffe, have chosen to keep Ten Hag in place and give him the opportunity to improve the club’s fortunes following the FA Cup triumph over Manchester City which has helped sway their decision.
There is an acceptance that the review took too long but the mitigation is that it was the first time they had conducted one and they wanted to give themselves time and not rush into a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction. It will be an annual process, as happens at other clubs, but is expected to be far quicker next year.
It will be fascinating to see whether there is any re-shaping of Ten Hag’s role in his new contract. The 54-year-old holds the title of manager, but Ineos would preferably have a head coach in the post to work within their structure of sporting director Dan Ashworth, when he eventually arrives from Newcastle United, and technical director Jason Wilcox, who has been integral to the review.
There is a belief that Ten Hag has had too much power at United, not least in transfer deals, although he has, understandably, argued that this has partly been because of the lack of infrastructure at the club.
John Murtough, who has left as football director, was instrumental in Ten Hag’s appointment but there were concerns whether he was up to the job of providing the necessary support. In fairness to Murtough, he could also argue that he didn’t have the necessary support structure and there is sympathy towards him.
The £86m paid to Ajax for Antony − a deal Ten Hag insisted upon − caused astonishment. However, he argues this was partly because United prevaricated, allowing Ajax to inflate the price, and should have been more decisive.
Although transfer funds will be made available this summer, they are expected to be limited given the amount of spending United have undertaken in the past few years. The priority will be to try and get the best out of the existing squad, while a plus for Ten Hag has been the development of young players led by Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
There is an acceptance that Ten Hag has been severely hampered by injuries − the most in the Premier League, according to the club − especially in key positions such as central defence.
