Erik ten Hag is currently on holiday in Ibiza as he ponders his future at Manchester United or elsewhere.
That’s reported in Wednesday’s edition of Dutch newspaper AD, in an article from Sjoerd Mossou.
There’s been doubt around the manager’s future, even after he won the FA Cup in a memorable victory over Manchester City at Wembley.
Premier League form, and performances in the Champions League, simply weren’t good enough. Even ahead of the final, there were claims, which now feel as if they were premature, that Manchester United had already decided to sack the Dutchman.
Mossou explains that there’s ‘doubts on both sides’, and it could be that Ten Hag himself would prefer to move on. The ‘radio silence’ from both parties is presented as a problem, but they can hardly continually reaffirm a desire to each other publicly… that would just create problems for the future.
The Dutch perspective is that Ten Hag himself must see that the team and club is able to take ‘important steps this summer’. Despite the manager having a year left on his initial deal with Manchester United, Mossou says ‘the scenario of parting amicably cannot be ruled out’.
There’s said to have been ‘extensive discussions’ at the club over the past week or so, and part of the delay is put down to the ‘risk’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe sees in any decision.
Whether he chooses to stick or twist, the success or otherwise of that decision will rest on him and the management team he’s putting in place.
Mossou explains that Ten Hag’s cockiness around the FA Cup final, such as his strange interview with the Dutch media, was purposeful, something of an attempted power move.
Regardless, the uncertainty continues and perhaps that’s inevitable and won’t be provided with an answer. If Manchester United and Ten Hag decide to continue together then making a fanfare of it will only encourage demands for public board backing the next time the club hits a difficult streak.
