Soccer

No clarity on Erik ten Hag’s future after Manchester United summit meeting

United sit five points above the relegation zone after their worst ever start in the Premier League

Manchester United have taken eight points from seven Premier League games with only five goals scored. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images
Jamie Jackson
Tue Oct 08 2024 - 18:19

No clarity has been offered regarding Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United following a summit meeting of the club’s hierarchy on Tuesday during which the Dutchman’s position as manager was discussed.

The meeting, a regular diary appointment of the executive committee, took place in Knightsbridge, at the offices of Ineos. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the company’s owner and United’s largest single minority shareholder, led the talks with Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, and Jason Wilcox, the technical director.

As a regular gathering of the committee, no communication would normally be issued afterwards unless a major decision had been taken. After the meeting’s conclusion, staff at the club had no indication that this had occurred. Yet the Ratcliffe-controlled football department, which is led by Ashworth, could still take the decision to remove Ten Hag in the coming days.

The 54-year-old has overseen United’s worst ever start to a Premier League campaign of eight points from seven games with only five goals scored. They sit five points above the relegation zone and six points below fourth going into the latest international break.

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If Ten Hag is sacked, it is understood his assistant, Ruud van Nistelrooy, is a potential option as caretaker manager should time be needed to appoint a permanent replacement.

Van Nistelrooy, who became Ten Hag’s assistant in July, managed PSV Eindhoven for all but one match of the 2022-23 season, winning the KNVB Cup. During the summer, Thomas Tuchel was interviewed by Wilcox in Monaco regarding potentially replacing Ten Hag. The German remains of interest should a change be deemed necessary.

Meanwhile, Harry Maguire will be out of action for a “few weeks” after suffering what appeared to be a leg injury in Sunday’s goalless draw at Aston Villa, the defender has announced. “Frustrated to pick up an injury at the weekend, will be a few weeks on the sideline for me but I’ll come back stronger,” the defender wrote on Instagram. – Guardian