Manchester United are reportedly reluctant to sack Erik ten Hag despite suffering a dire start to the season.
The Dutchman has overseen a bleak sequence of just two wins from the club’s opening seven league games, while United are still waiting for a maiden victory in European competition. In the face of mounting discontent, Ten Hag managed to steer the club to a pair of much-needed draws in the last week.
Rumours of Thomas Tuchel’s potential appointment at Old Trafford have resurfaced, but the club’s hierarchy are not itching to get rid of Ten Hag. The former Ajax boss had a one-year extension in his contract triggered in July and was allowed to rework the setup of his backroom staff with a glut of new hires.
According to ESPN‘s Rob Dawson, the powers that be at Manchester United have privately admitted that they “really don’t want to sack” Ten Hag. After emphatically committing to the divisive head coach in the summer, it would be “embarrassing” to part ways after less than two months of the new campaign.
Following the dismal 3-0 loss to Tottenham at the end of September, United’s board covertly confirmed that they were “very calm” and “didn’t want to make a knee-jerk reaction” regarding Ten Hag’s position. The Red Devils have subsequently earned a pair of wildly contrasting draws, duking out a helter-skelter 3-3 with Porto before suffering through a goalless stalemate with Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein shared the same opinion on NBC Sports, stressing that “hope they don’t get to that point”. However, the suggestion that United could not afford to sack Ten Hag was quashed by Ornstein.
The Premier League giants would have to pay a compensation fee in the region of £17.5m to end Ten Hag’s freshly updated contract – a considerable rise compared to the sum which would have been required before his summer extension. But there are no fears that such an outlay would jeopardise United’s financial fair play status.
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