Exclusive: Ten Hag’s future clarified soon as Man United seek defensive reinforcements

Erik Ten Hag’s position at Man United will only be clarified at the end of the season, but the feeling at the moment is that the FA Cup result will only have a relative weight on his future.

Not qualifying for the Champions League is considered a great failure by INEOS, but in any case, the meeting scheduled for the next few weeks will clarify everything according to CaughtOffside sources with knowledge of United’s intentions.

No news is good news for ten Hag

On the transfer front, it is no surprise that Raphael Varane will leave the Red Devils at the end of the season and for this reason, evaluations have already started on the new centre-back that Man United intend to buy as his replacement.

Many names are under consideration at this point with Jarrad Branthwaite a possible target given that Everton are in difficulty in light of FFP and will work to monetise several transfers this summer.

Talks reopened for Jean-Clair Todibo whose contract at Nice expires in June 2027, and the Ligue Un club have set a price for the Frenchman at around £50m.

Interest is growing in Tosin Adarabioyo who will leave Fulham as a free transfer in June, but  Newcastle are also in the race and already approached his entourage weeks ago.

Despite this, United want to understand whether there is room for negotiation anyway.

Gleison Bremer remains another name to strengthen central defence, but Juventus aren’t willing to sell the Brazilian for anything less than €75m.

Some movement is also expected in the full-back areas with Aaron Wan Bissaka potentially saying goodbye in the summer, given that his contract that expires next year.

Jeremie Frimpong remains on United’s wish list and after the Europa League final, they want to speed things up both with Leverkusen and with the player.

Vanderson of Monaco and Dumfries of Inter are also on the list, while Girona full-back Miguel Gutierrez (whose release clause is set at €35m) is among the players monitored for the left side of the pitch.