Erik ten Hag to stay at Man Utd as Sir Jim Ratcliffe ready to hand boss a new contract | Football | Sport
Erik ten Hag is to stay in charge of Manchester United next season. After Sir Jim Ratcliffe oversaw an end-of-season review at Old Trafford, the Dutchman is now reportedly set to be offered a new deal by the INEOS boss.
There were widespread reports the 54-year-old was set to be sacked following the FA Cup final.
But he masterminded a 2-1 Wembley win over Manchester City at Wembley on May 25, which secured his second trophy in two seasons at Old Trafford.
No other United boss has won silverware in back-to-back campaigns since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013. And that victory has seemingly secured the future of Ten Hag, despite an underwhelming eighth-placed finish in the Premier League.
The club also suffered a humiliating Champions League campaign. They were knocked out in the group stages despte a favourable group draw with Bayern Munich, Copenhagen, and Galatasaray. They won just one of six European matches.
Yet Ten Hag will stay with the club confident of a brighter future under the former Ajax coach.
According to The Athletic, talks between both parties took place on Tuesday. It was agreed that Ten Hag would continue in his role, despite the club being linked to a host of other candidates for the position including Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank and Gareth Southgate.
Ten Hag has been informed he will be staying despite the widespread speculation of late.
Ten Hag’s current three-year contract runs until June 2025, although the club did insert an option to prolong the deal by 12 months. And he will now reportedly open negotiations to sign an extended deal.
Ratcliffe, who notably has not publicly backed Ten Hag since completing his minority takeover, had been linked with a move for Gareth Southgate. But with the England boss refusing to open up on his future until after Euro 2024, it seems United are not prepapred to wait to gauge his availability.
After the Wembley win, which followed a Carabao Cup triumph in 2022-23, Ten Hag was defiant when pressed on whether he set to be sacked. That followed him frequently telling journalists he remained focused on the job despite speculation.
“Two trophies in two years is not bad, three finals in two years is not bad,” he said. “If they don’t want me, then I go somewhere else to win trophies because that is what I do.”
Since Ferguson left, no United manager has completed three full seasons in charge. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s tenure has since been the longest, lasting three years after initially taking over from Jose Mourinho in a caretaker role in December 2018.
