Erik ten Hag has signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Manchester United until the summer of 2026.
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The Dutch coach was out of contract in the summer of 2025 but United have triggered the extension clause for one more year.
INEOS, who took over football operations of United just a few months ago and have made huge changes across the club with Dan Ashworth, Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada, Sir Dave Brailsford all joining in senior roles, have stuck with Erik ten Hag despite heavy criticism of the way United played last season.
“With two trophies in the past two seasons, Erik has reinforced his record as one of the most consistently successful coaches in European football,” Ashworth, Manchester United’s new sporting director, said. “While the club’s review of last season highlighted areas for improvement, it also reached a clear conclusion that Erik was the best partner for us to work with in driving up standards and outcomes.
“This group of players and staff have already shown they are capable of competing and winning at the top level; now we need to do it more consistently. With our strengthened football leadership team now in place, we are looking forward to working hand-in-hand with Erik to achieve our shared ambitions for this football club.”
What is Erik ten Hag saying?
Ten Hag has won the League Cup and FA Cup in his first two seasons in charge but oversaw a dreadful campaign for United last season as they finished eighth in the Premier League. However, their FA Cup final win against Manchester City booked them a spot in the Europa League group stage and made sure that Ten Hag added a second trophy to the League Cup he won in his debut season in charge in the 2022-23 campaign.
Speaking about extending his stay at United, this is what Erik ten Hag had to say:
“I am very pleased to have reached agreement with the club to continue working together. Looking back at the past two years, we can reflect with pride on two trophies and many examples of progression from where we were when I joined,” Ten Hag said.
“However, we must also be clear that there is still lots of hard work ahead to reach the levels expected of Manchester United, which means challenging for English and European titles. In my discussions with the club, we have found complete unity in our vision for reaching those goals, and we are all strongly committed to making that journey together.”
Is this the right decision?
Time will tell but it is certainly a safe decision and gives ETH the benefit of the doubt that with a total new structure, rising stars like Garnacho, Hojlund and Mainoo who has nurtured expertly, some key new players and hopefully for his and United’s sake better luck with injuries, he can kick them on and be a top four team once again.
Last season may have just been a freak campaign and Ten Hag could point to his debut season in charge when he reached two cup finals (winning the League Cup) and finishing in third place as a true reflection of what he can do. But the way his side played for most of last season was shambolic as defensive injuries hit them hard and they were often overpowered and dominated, even in games they ended up winning.
For the upcoming season, if United can keep Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez fit, plus add a holding midfielder, striker and a center back in the transfer window, they should be right up there in the top four hunt.
With all of the changes behind-the-scenes at United put in place by INEOS, things will take time to start heading in a positive direction.
The fact Erik ten Hag has been handed the keys to coach the team for their first full season in charge of football operations at Old Trafford is a huge show of faith and now he has to prove that last season was a one-off and usher in an attractive style of play while getting results with a talented young team.