INEOS moving closer to Ten Hag sack decision as replacement named in Man Utd meeting

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is seemingly putting the feelers out for a potential Erik ten Hag successor should the Dutchman be relieved of his duties in the near future.

It’s the outcome that most Manchester United fans are now waiting on following another treacherous start to the campaign, which has seen them claim only eight points from their opening seven matches – their lowest at this stage of any Premier League season on record.

As a result, the Red Devils entered the international break positioned 14th in the table, and given how they’d fared in the games leading up to the pause in action, you’d struggle to see how they could make it out of the bottom half.

Ten Hag retained the faith of a large portion of the Old Trafford faithful over the summer – amidst a time when plenty believed he should’ve been axed irrespective of the FA Cup final triumph. Then, when he was further backed with over £200 million of his desired signings in the transfer window, and fans saw no improvement on the pitch, he lost the backing of the more patient cohort of supporters.

Ratcliffe attended a meeting in London on Tuesday with his INEOS entourage and club executives. The future of Ten Hag was expected to be a pressing topic in the talks, and Miguel Delaney has now provided some insight as to what was discussed.

What Delaney is hearing about Ratcliffe’s meeting

He claims, via the Independent, that Ratcliffe “asked United’s football hierarchy to offer detailed cases for the various positions on Ten Hag in Tuesday’s meeting as part of a new approach – but there were variations in stances”.

Delaney adds that Thomas Tuchel was ‘mentioned as most likely potential successor’. The German coach has been out of work since his Bayern Munich exit upon the culmination of the 2023/2024 term.

Reports revealed throughout the summer that Tuchel, who led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2021, was indeed one of a handful of candidates to have held talks with the United hierarchy. However, an agreement failed to materialise due to differing opinions over the power he would hold, as well as the financial package he’d receive.