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Manchester United can afford to sack Erik ten Hag, despite suggestion’s the club’s perilous financial situation would have prevented them from terminating the Dutchman’s costly contract.
David Ornstein states it is “not true” that United’s financial fair play position (FFP) would impede the club’s decision to move on from Ten Hag, following the Red Devils’ worst start to a Premier League campaign in history.
“One point I want to make clear, the idea…that financial fair play is a reason why Erik ten Hag won’t be dismissed, that Manchester United couldn’t afford it, is not true,” the Athletic reporter reveals. “It would be expensive, but it is doable if it gets to that point.”
However, Ornstein counters, United “hope they don’t get to that point” just four months after the club made the decision to extend Ten Hag’s contract by twelve months over the summer.
INEOS, who gained full control over the football operation at Old Trafford in February, conducted a comprehensive ‘end-of-season’ review to assess a dismal campaign for United. Part of the scope of the review was Ten Hag himself, and the extent to which he was responsible for the obvious failings on the pitch.
A number of prospective managers were considered as replacements for the Dutchman, with Thomas Tuchel appearing to be the candidate most strongly considered.
However, INEOS eventually decided to stick with Ten Hag, after negotiations with Tuchel stalled, and United’s new rulers triggered a one-year extension in the Dutchman’s contract.
There is now undoubted reluctance amongst Old Trafford officials to reverse this choice, with noises emanating from the club detailing the need for patience and restraint, despite the abject results and performances on the pitch.
United sit 14th in the league with a goal difference of minus three. Only Southampton have scored fewer goals than Ten Hag’s side while the Red Devils have drawn both of their opening fixtures in the Europa League – a competition quickly emerging as the club’s best opportunity to gain entry back into the Champions League, given their poor start in the Premier League.
Around £180 million was spent this summer to buttress Ten Hag’s squad, with a strong emphasis on outgoing transfers to generate the requisite money to fund these signings.
United’s FFP situation was a precarious one as years of profligacy in the transfer market came to a head. The club’s new executive branch, comprised of Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, skilfully danced around this difficult restraint to allow United to sign five major stars, including Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.
And there had been suggestions this costly spending may have inhibited the club’s ability to sack Ten Hag, given the extension had increased the amount required for such a decision to £17.5 million.
In yesterday’s limp 0-0 draw with Aston Villa, Ten Hag chose to bench three of the summer signings, starting only Mazraoui with Yoro continuing his rehabilitation from a foot injury. It’s a move unlikely to have impressed United’s executives, nor Sir Jim Ratcliffe or Sir Dave Brailsford, who were also in attendance at Villa Park.
Ratcliffe is set to be joined by co-owner Joel Glazer, with the executive branch as well, for a series of boardroom meetings this week. While these talks are scheduled ones, rather than reactionary, the future of Ten Hag is likely to be high on the agenda after such a poor start to the campaign.
And the fact that Ornstein confirms the club can afford to sack the Dutchman is an ominous one for the 54-year-old coach as a two-week international break begins; often seen as the ideal context in which to make a managerial change.
The Athletic reporter reveals the “pressure is clearly growing” on Ten Hag and the “onus” is on him to improve the situation. There was a sense that the lack of structure above the manager has been a long-standing problem at Old Trafford, which has inhibited every coach to come through the door since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
INEOS went to great lengths to buttress this executive structure with a series of ‘best-in-class’ appointments, including Berrada, Ashworth and Wilcox. And it’s this team, Ornstein contends, who would ultimately deliver the “recommendation” to Ratcliffe and Glazer to move on from Ten Hag. “I don’t think Sir Jim Ratcliffe would act unilaterally [on this],” he concludes.
It’s overwhelmingly likely, therefore, that the very people Ten Hag demanded be brought to the club this summer are the ones who will be casting judgement over his own future at Old Trafford over the next few days.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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