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Erik ten Hag’s relationship with INEOS can be seen as a marriage of convenience: Manchester United’s new co-owners did not choose Ten Hag as their manager, nor did he initially sign up to work for them. Whether any kind of love of football flourishes depends on the final weeks of the season and the discussions that will take place at its climax.
The future of Ten Hag is one of the crucial questions for INEOS chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford. No decisions have been made but planning for next season is underway with Ten Hag at the helm. He is included in meetings on recruiting and the medical department, areas seen as needing refinement at United. The manager is also calling for hotels and training facilities to be used during the pre-season tour of the United States.
Ten Hag has had regular conversations with Brailsford, who is largely based at United’s Carrington training ground, since the INEOS investment was agreed in December. Several figures at the club believe Ten Hag deserve the chance to operate in a new structure populated by people Ratcliffe and Brailsford regard as “best in class”. Performances and results this campaign have brought attention to Ten Hag, but United’s long injury list is seen internally as a real damper.
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Director of football John Murtough is set to leave. There had been a vague proposal that he could continue working in a reduced role, but all parties now accept that a clean separation makes more sense. Murtough’s departure should be confirmed once the structural hires are formalized. In the meantime, he will continue his work.
Jason Wilcox will likely come in as technical director of Southampton. He is expected to engage with the United manager on a daily basis and provide a link to the hierarchy. He will also provide a bridge between the youth team and the first team, building on the work he did as Manchester City’s academy director. United hope a compensation deal with Southampton can be reached quickly. His arrival would mean a recalibration of responsibilities and a new title for Darren Fletcher, United’s technical director.
Negotiations with Newcastle United so that Dan Ashworth can officially start work as sporting director are expected to take longer. This is crucial to Ten Hag’s status, as Brailsford wants to give Ashworth authority over the managerial position.
Ashworth, along with new general manager Omar Berrada, would be responsible for leading the decision on Ten Hag and selecting a replacement, in such an eventuality, but this is difficult as both are on gardening leave. Newcastle would be particularly keen on anything Ashworth might do that could be construed as a deal at Old Trafford.
Potential leadership candidates are being considered, but that’s it. Brailsford has known Gareth Southgate for years, but the England manager has the European Championship this summer and some people in the game doubt his suitability to make the transition from international to club football, 15 years after leaving Middlesbrough. Graham Potter fits the INEOS model, was in frame at Nice when Brailsford was involved and is available after leaving Chelsea.
Ashworth usually needs time to evaluate the places he enters before making changes. In Newcastle, he took stock of three months.
In the view of INEOS decision-makers, a football structure is led by a sporting director with a head coach underneath. Ratcliffe and Brailsford like their appointments to work with a clear methodology and have intimated privately that they will do what they think is right, rather than taking into account outside noise. Ratcliffe’s statement to the media that INEOS aims to “walk towards the right solution, not the wrong one” has been repeated internally, and United staff interpret this as reflecting the Ten Hag decision.
Ten Hag is described as being open to operating as head coach and feels in agreement with Ratcliffe and Brailsford on their vision, having held several discussions. He had close ties with a sporting director of Ajax, Marc Overmars. Ten Hag has a veto over signings written into his contract with United, but recruitment has been a collaboration since his arrival. Pep Guardiola, for example, has no veto in his City terms but no player will be signed without his approval.
Ten Hag has had influence over signings, but much of that is down to his uncertainty over what deals United can do. When his debut campaign began, the only first-team additions were Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen. At the start of that summer, he prioritized an established striker and a young central midfielder.
Ratcliffe and Brailsford, having initially become interested in training at United during a presentation at Old Trafford and Carrington last March, had already determined that the environment needed to be refocused on sporting excellence, as was not the case when the Glazers were solely responsible. They see enormous progress to be made in identifying and recruiting new players.
Berrada and Ashworth were judged to be leaders capable of speeding up that process, but with neither of them able to start taking action for United, progress on the goals has been blocked.
In the meantime, Brailsford have implemented an open door policy for staff and players to discuss their thoughts on improving the club environment. Several members of the Ten Hag team took the opportunity to speak candidly with Brailsford in his office.
As might be expected given the turbulence of this campaign, there has been criticism amid the blowback, but sources close to the first team, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, insist that any attempt players to undermine Ten Hag is interrupted. The main aim of the meetings is for Brailsford to fully understand the United landscape and, if necessary, advise on INEOS’ plans or convey the kind of psychological support he used to give to United’s cyclists. British Olympic team or Team Sky. .
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Champions League qualification – which seems a distant prospect this season – is not seen as crucial for Ten Hag, but results and performances will form the basis of consideration. Brentford was a bad night for him in that regard, as much as beating Liverpool in the FA Cup was a good thing.
The 4-3 defeat at Stamford Bridge was a chaotic and ultimately damaging mix. Watching from the stands, Ratcliffe and Brailsford saw United show resilience and quality to battle out a 2-0 win over Chelsea, only to lose after the 96th minute. The extent to which this final implosion is due to players’ lack of playing intelligence or messages from the manager is a crucial aspect for INEOS to rule on, but the trend has been seen previously this season against Arsenal, Copenhagen and Galatasaray.
This is a two-way street, however, and Ten Hag should have options himself at the end of the season. Several clubs in Europe consider Ten Hag’s first season an achievement considering what he inherited, and this campaign as mediocre, which translates to a good job overall. Figures at Ajax want Ten Hag to return, but it is unclear if that remains the case following the suspension of general manager Alex Kroes, while Ten Hag does not want to return to Amsterdam.
There will also be vacancies at Bayern Munich and Barcelona, and Ten Hag could be in discussions. He coached Bayern Munich II and several Dutch managers occupied the Camp Nou dugout.
Ten Hag will also assess whether they can put together the type of team needed to challenge City, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Ideally, those on the INEOS diet don’t want to tear it up and start again. Ten Hag’s fingerprints have been felt all over United over the past two seasons and the changes above him are considered enough for one summer. The cost of sacking Ten Hag – which would come with several million pounds in compensation – and hiring a replacement (if a club demands compensation) is a factor given the implications on profit rules and sustainability.
On the football side, bringing in Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo – each treated slightly differently – is seen as one of Ten Hag’s biggest assets.
Likewise, Ten Hag’s absolute preference is to continue at United. In this case, some internal conversations have centered around the need for a shake-up of his coaching staff, including adding a new voice at the assistant level. Mitchell van der Gaag represents a similar personality to Ten Hag, but the manager is loyal to his assistant and considers him an integral part of his team behind the scenes.
INEOS are said to be advocating a young, but established, British coach to complete the squad, but Ten Hag firmly believes that a coach’s nationality is irrelevant. Eric Ramsay was considered by Brailsford to have the potential to take on this kind of role, but he decided to accept the number 1 job at Minnesota United in Major League Soccer.
No single game will dictate the path forward, but rather a mix of all performance and broader factors. For now, the INEOS team is keeping its advice.
(Top photo: Manchester United via Getty Images)