Exclusive: Erik ten Hag expected to sign two-year Manchester United contract extension

Erik ten Hag is likely to be offered a two-year contract extension to his current deal at Manchester United.

It was decided, after a meeting on Tuesday, that Ten Hag would remain at the club following months of uncertainty over his future.

Ten Hag had grown increasingly frustrated as United’s end-of-season review stretched into a third week, fearing it would affect the transfer plans as well as his own position.

The Dutchman wanted to carry on and has agreed to talks over a new extended contract. A preliminary discussion has taken place with United, suggesting they have not reached details over the length of a deal. There is an expectation, however, it will be two more years.

Ten Hag arrived on a three-year deal in 2022 which included United holding an option to extend for a further 12 months, meaning his contract runs out on June 30, 2025. But it is set to be superseded by a deal for another two years, meaning he will have three years left to run from the end of this month.

Ten Hag was disappointed that United spoke to other managers during their review but accepted his future was in doubt and does not believe that he has been fatally undermined.

A new contract is a natural consequence of United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is effectively running the club, deciding that he wants Ten Hag to carry on. It would be awkward for the manager to go into the final 12 months of his contract, given the speculation over whether he will stay.

United held talks with Thomas Tuchel, who has decided he will take a break from football after leaving Bayern Munich, and met with representatives of Brentford manager Thomas Frank. There were also discussions over Mauricio Pochettino, who was ruled out, and Roberto de Zerbi, while Kieran McKenna chose to sign a new contract at newly-promoted Ipswich Town.

In the end, the club’s hierarchy, led by Ratcliffe, have chosen to keep Ten Hag in place and give him the opportunity to improve the club’s fortunes following the FA Cup triumph over Manchester City which has helped sway their decision.

There is an acceptance that the review took too long but the mitigation is that it was the first time they had conducted one and they wanted to give themselves time and not rush into a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction. It will be an annual process, as happens at other clubs, but is expected to be far quicker next year.

It will be fascinating to see whether there is any re-shaping of Ten Hag’s role in his new contract. The 54-year-old holds the title of manager, but Ineos would preferably have a head coach in the post to work within their structure of sporting director Dan Ashworth, when he eventually arrives from Newcastle United, and technical director Jason Wilcox, who has been integral to the review.

There is a belief that Ten Hag has had too much power at United, not least in transfer deals, although he has, understandably, argued that this has partly been because of the lack of infrastructure at the club.

John Murtough, who has left as football director, was instrumental in Ten Hag’s appointment but there were concerns whether he was up to the job of providing the necessary support. In fairness to Murtough, he could also argue that he didn’t have the necessary structure around him and there is sympathy towards him.

The £86 million paid to Ajax for Antony – a deal Ten Hag insisted upon – caused astonishment. However, he argues this was partly because United prevaricated, allowing Ajax to inflate the price, and should have been more decisive.

Although transfer funds will be made available this summer, they are expected to be limited given the amount of spending United have undertaken in the past few years. The priority will be to try and get the best out of the existing squad, while a plus for Ten Hag has been the development of young players led by Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.

There is an acceptance that Ten Hag has been severely hampered by injuries – the most in the Premier League according to the club – especially in key positions such as central defence.

The review has concluded that long-terms signings such as Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount – who was injured for most of last season – have taken time to bed in and that their full benefit will be felt in the next campaign.

United will also want to see whether Ten Hag can rebuild Marcus Rashford’s confidence and what his plan is for Jadon Sancho, who was sent out on loan to Borussia Dortmund after falling out with the manager.

The key finding of the review was that Ten Hag deserves a chance to show what he is capable of within the new sporting structure that Ratcliffe and Ineos, under new chief executive Omar Berrada, who officially starts next month, are establishing.

There is no doubt that winning the FA Cup, and the impressive performance against City, was an important factor as it guaranteed European football in the Europa League. United were also aware of the fans’ reaction and factored that in.

The priority for Ten Hag, who has been on holiday with his family in Ibiza, will be to now finalise United’s transfer plans, with pre-season training starting at the beginning of July ahead of a first friendly in Norway against Rosenborg on July 15. United then embark on a tour to the United States.

Ten Hag must yield transfer power after Ineos reprieve

Ten Hag will be expected to work within the new Ineos structure after keeping his Manchester United job, with co-owner Ratcliffe determined to implement a “head coach” system where transfers are driven by his recruitment team.

Ratcliffe made one of his priorities, after taking control of football operations, to move away from the traditional model of one manager overseeing several departments in the way Sir Alex Ferguson worked. It is understood Ratcliffe’s team, to a degree, was “horrified” by the power Ten Hag was able to exert over transfers.

With Wilcox in place as technical director and Ashworth wanted as sporting director, Ratcliffe now wants the person in charge of the first team to be focused on coaching.

It may mean Ten Hag, while staying at the club, will have less of a say in the transfer market after two years where he has brought his targets to Old Trafford. For instance, he landed his No 1 midfield target last summer and was said by sources to be “heavily involved” in selling the club to Mount.

United had competition from Arsenal and Liverpool for Mount and it was Ten Hag who had a role in making the England international feel wanted within his squad.

Mikel Arteta at Arsenal saw his job title changed in his second season at the club, going from head coach to manager to reflect his responsibilities at the Emirates which included analysis, recruitment and the medical department.

At the time of the change, it was announced by Arsenal he would be “working really, really closely to manage all the other elements of our football operations that are so important”.

Ratcliffe has spoken about his view on head coaches, insisting: “We don’t have managers today, we have a coach. And a coach would normally report to a sporting director and a sporting director would report to the chief executive.

“Where do you put recruitment? Strategy? All that kind of stuff. You need to get your organisation right and then need to populate it with the people who are best in class.”

Ten Hag’s signings have been mixed, to put it politely. He moved for Antony after working with him at Ajax but the £82 million signing has been disastrous. Casemiro was 30 when he signed for £60 million plus add-ons, with limited resale value. His form dipped last season and now United will listen to offers for him.

Mount has been injured for much of the season, as has Lisandro Martinez, who looks good value at £48.5 million when he plays but was sidelined for four months.

Onana still has technical flaws despite some good performances in the second half of the season. Hojlund has shown promise but still needs support, with United looking for a striker this window.

Ratcliffe, ideally, would want his head coach to be focused on his work on the training pitches at Carrington, with the training centre being renovated this summer. The work will run into next season and there will be a new look to the training base and a new structure to the club behind the scenes.

Ashworth has been targeted as “best in class” as a sporting director after his work at the Football Association, Brighton and Newcastle. England teams from youth level to the seniors improved dramatically on Ashworth’s watch, while Brighton have long been admired by other clubs for identifying elite players at the start of their careers. At Newcastle, he showed he can work within the limits of profit-and-sustainability rules, which is now an important factor at United after announcing losses in their financial accounts.

It is not expected to be a summer of heavy spending, and Ratcliffe’s new team are expected to be driving recruitment with Ashworth on gardening leave at Newcastle and waiting to join when a deal is agreed. Berrada will also come in as CEO from Manchester City.

There is likely to be an end to the sort of situation seen in Ten Hag’s first summer when he wanted Frenkie de Jong and it led to a futile 14-week pursuit of the Holland midfielder that ended in failure.

This could play to Ten Hag’s strengths. He showed at Wembley that he can motivate his team, preparing a video montage edited with Al Pacino’s famous speech from Any Given Sunday ahead of defeating City. His tactics were flawless in the 2-1 win and his players had responded to his coaching over the previous six days. That work on the training pitch is likely to be his main focus when he returns to work for pre-season.