Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag finds himself subject of more intense speculation over his future.
Erik ten Hag will hold his press conference ahead of the FA Cup final on Thursday afternoon. We expect half the questions to be about the game, and half to be asked about his future.
Manchester United last won the trophy in 2016, with Louis van Gaal sacked almost instantly after. The current Dutchman in charge is at risk of suffering a similar fate.
Speculation is mounting over Ten Hag’s future, an inconvenient distraction ahead of the showdown against rivals City.
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Di Marzio claimed Ten Hag future decided
The latest report on Erik ten Hag’s future comes via Italian reporter Gianluca di Marzio, reporting for Dutch outlet SoccerNews.
He claims Ten Hag’s future has been decided and he will leave in the summer. This is yet to be corroborated elsewhere, and we would expect United to deny it ahead of the cup final.
After the cup final, the situation will become clearer. United won’t have to play their cards as close to their chest, with the summer business commencing and the season over.
Di Marzio claimed there are now three top managers who would be in line to replace Ten Hag, which do not include Thomas Tuchel.
Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino is available after hissurprise departure from Chelsea. Ineos made a play to hire him for Nice two years ago, so there is clear admiration there.
Roberto de Zerbi
Another manager who is now available, Roberto de Zerbi is looking for a new job after leaving Brighton and Hove Albion. He was expected to join Bayern Munich but this does not look to be happening.
Kieran McKenna
Former Manchester United assistant coach Kieran McKenna is in-demand after leading Ipswich Town to back to back promotions. Chelsea are interested, would United let him go without a fight?
Ineos yet to show their hand
The silence from Ineos has fed into all this speculation over Erik ten Hag’s future. They have stayed silent on the manager, who has just led United to a poor eighth placed finish in the Premier League.
Ineos really need to come out and back Ten Hag, and put these rumours to bed. But they are not doing so, which indicates the writing may be on the wall.
They can’t back him and not mean it, however, and the situation is creating an unhealthy backdrop ahead of the club’s biggest game of the season, a Manchester derby cup final.