A new update has been shared about the future of Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag following the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe at the club.
Ratcliffe runs the rule
Though he only arrived in Manchester in February, the impact Ratcliffe has already made behind the scenes has been phenomenal. The INEOS Chief has made off-the-pitch moves to re-structure the hierarchy of the Premier League giants, with Omar Berrada arriving from Manchester City to take up the CEO role at Old Trafford, while Jason Wilcox is expected to arrive as the club's new technical director after resigning from his role at Southampton last month.
Ratcliffe lines up £36m signing who could speed up Casemiro's Man Utd exit
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to bolster the midfield this summer.
ByTom Lever
Current Red Devils football director John Murtough announced that he was stepping down earlier in April, and he will be replaced by both Wilcox and hopefully Newcastle's Dan Ashworth, currently on gardening leave as the Magpies and Manchester United discuss compensation.
United have also approached Crystal Palace man Dougie Freedman, though it is unclear just how advanced that move is at present.
It comes ahead of what could be a massive summer at the Theatre of Dreams, with a left-back, central defender, central midfielder, winger and striker all on their shopping list in a bid to improve on a disappointing campaign.
Stick or twist on Ten Hag
With those above the manager now broadly in place, Ratcliffe could turn his attention to the man in the Old Trafford technical area, with a decision expected on Ten Hag's future come this summer. The United boss himself isn't worried about the sack.
“I am sure we are in the right direction and will get where we want to be", he explained. “I don’t have any doubts. I’m just focusing on my job, focusing on this process, in this project. I really love to be here, I’m enjoying it. For me it’s a challenge.”
The bigger challenge for the Dutchman may be explaining why he deserves to keep the job beyond the end of this season, which has once again been a difficult one.
Currently sixth in the Premier League, they are almost certain to be without Champions League football next season, while just one win in their last five games has seen them slip back into the clutches of West Ham United, Newcastle and Chelsea ahead of the final games of the season.
They still stand a chance of lifting silverware, with an FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City before they will meet one of Chelsea and Manchester City in the final of the competition.
As per Give Me Sport, Ten Hag is now preparing for the new season already, with the Dutchman 'edging towards' remaining at the helm, largely for his ability to nurture youth.
Ten Hag's time in Manchester
Matches
105
Wins
63
Goals scored
186
Goals conceded
138
Points per game
1.92
Win %
60%
They claim that 'he is in line to remain in the hot-seat in the meantime and begin preparing for the 2024/25 campaign even though there is a threat of him eventually being axed'.
This is largely thanks to the progress of starlets such as Willy Kambwala, Kobbie Mainoo and notably Alejandro Garnacho, while Omari Forson has also been used from the substitutes bench. Garnacho in particular has notched up nearly 2000 Premier League minutes this season, more than Casemiro, Harry Maguire and Antony.
Though Ten Hag is proving able to rely on the youth (often more through necessity than choice), he will need to start finding results on the pitch sooner rather than later should he want this to be anything more than a stay of execution.
