Following a disappointing season, Manchester United increasingly seem to be set to move on from manager Erik ten Hag despite still having a chance at Europa League qualification according to the Guardian. The Red Devils finished eighth in the Premier League after finishing third only a season ago. They’ll face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday which will determine if Old Trafford will see Euroropean soccer next season, but even a victory won’t be enough to save ten Hag’s job, it now seems.
Under new ownership, at least partially, with Jim Ratcliffe now controlling the soccer decisions at the club, there has been wonder about whether Ten Hag would retain his role and it seems like that may be coming to an end. While injuries were a factor in their performance this season, only Sheffield United allowed more shots than Manchester United’s 670. By expected goals against, United’s defensive statistics should’ve been worse as they only allowed 58 goals from an xG against of 70.26. The only team with a worse xGA than United was West Ham United who are also making a managerial change as David Moyes has been replaced by Julen Lopetegui.
Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, and Kieran McKenna are some of the names linked to the United job if they do move on from Ten Hag, but the trio would bring very different styles to the team. McKenna is reportedly also wanted by Brighton and Chelsea, but the Ipswich Town manager would be someone more likely to oversee a project than expected to bring United back to the Champions League in season one. Tuchel is more of a win now manager, while Pochettino is a mix between the duo after improving Chelsea’s league standing in only one season in charge.
If they move on from Ten Hag it will be the biggest move made by Ratcliffe to date, but it’s step one to turning around Manchester United, the issue is that it does provide quite a distraction ahead of the FA Cup final itself. The Red Devils will already be up against it, facing their league rivals in that match, but with a Europa League berth on the line, it’s a match that they’d want to win.
The new managers job will only be harder without European soccer as that will impact recruitment during a summer where United will need help at almost every level of the team. Decisions need to be made on new midfielders as well as if players like Antony continue with the side, an issue that’s especially pressing for those players that Ten Hag was instrumental in bringing to the side if he’s no longer there.
Installing a new manager early will help with answering some of these questions sooner than later but the timing of these reports couldn’t have been worse when focus should be on Wembley.
