Fabrizio Romano has reported that Erik ten Hag is set to stay at Manchester United for the start of the 2024/25 season after a rough second year.
Erik ten Hag Given Second Chance By Manchester United Board
Erik ten Hag to Stay at Manchester United
Romano reported that a “decision has been made” to keep ten Hag as Manchester United manager for the following season, or the start of it at least.
The “final decision” was made “by INEOS”, after Jim Ratcliffe purchased a large minority stake in the club in February. This may be surprising as new owners often want to replace the manager with their own philosophy.
A New Contract?
The Italian journalist confirmed David Ornstein’s reports that “contract talks will also follow”. Initial talks have reportedly already started. It seems that the 13-time Premier League winners are putting all of their eggs in the Dutch manager’s basket.
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This is interesting as the board had just taken over two weeks to decide whether to keep Ten Hag, even beginning talks with Thomas Tuchel. Their decision to extend his contract, which expires next summer, could be questioned.
Ten Hag’s Time at Manchester United
It was a relatively impressive first season in England for the tactician, after arriving from Ajax in the Eredivisie. In the 2022/23 season, the Red Devils finished third in the league and although they were nine points off second place, they were comfortably eight points within the Champions League spots.
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In the same season, Ten Hag picked up his first (and only so far) piece of silverware at United. They beat Newcastle United in the EFL Cup Final and looked to be in a good position for the coming season.
However, his second season had been nothing short of disastrous. They finished bottom of their Champions League group with four points below Galatasaray. They were knocked out of the EFL Cup 3-0 by a completely rotated Newcastle side in the fourth round. And they finished a low eighth place in the Premier League.
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This was until Ten Hag pulled off one of the greatest tactical masterclasses of the season, to beat their noisy neighbours Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup Final. This leads us to question how big of an influence this one game was, in a huge decision regarding Manchester United’s future.
