Next Man Utd manager: Shock candidate to reject odd Ratcliffe offer, as Ten Hag sack decision reached

Why Wolves manager Gary O’Neil will reject the chance to join Manchester United has emerged, while a report has revealed the decision Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made on the future of Erik ten Hag.

Eyebrows were raised when ESPN recently reported Wolves boss Gary O’Neil is under consideration for a new role at Manchester United.

O’Neil has worked wonders on a limited budget at Wolves. However, with all due respect to the 40-year-old, the commonly-held belief is Man Utd’s next manager – if indeed they sack Ten Hag – will be a higher profile figure with more experience.

England boss Gareth Southgate is admired, as is Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi.

The latter of that duo was responsible for guiding Sassuolo into Europe for the first time in the club’s history. Since arriving at Brighton he’s implemented a progressive style of play and also took Brighton into Europe for the first time in their history too.

De Zerbi is understood to be Bayern Munich’s No 1 target on the back of Xabi Alonso announcing he’ll stay loyal to Bayer Leverkusen.

De Zerbi is also on Liverpool’s radar, though the Reds’ new preferred candidate following their Alonso snub is Ruben Amorin of Sporting CP.

In any case, O’Neil was indexed to Man Utd by ESPN who suggested a coaching role – and not replacing Ten Hag as manager – could be offered.

Such a move would represent a backwards step for O’Neil despite the appeal of potentially joining a global giant like Man Utd. Indeed, very few out-and-out managers would be content to take a demotion and become an assistant.

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O’Neil to spurn any Man Utd offer

Now, according to a fresh update from talkSPORT, O’Neil is strongly expected to reject the Red Devils if that type of offer comes.

Instead, the plan at Molineux is to tie O’Neil down a to a new and improved agreement.

“That’s naturally where this is going,” said Wolves’ sporting director, Matt Hobbs. “He’s done well enough to have that conversation.

“Part of that will be the plan for the club, and that’s where you have to have honest conversations about what it looks like going forward.

“That is an inevitable situation we find ourselves in this summer, for sure, but let’s not talk about it at the moment. Let’s keep an eye on what we’re trying to do. We want to finish the season well.”

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Ten Hag sack decision reached

Another who’ll aim to finish the season well is Ten Hag. The Dutchman took the first step towards doing just that last time out when Man Utd dumped Liverpool out of the FA Cup and ended their quadruple dreams.

According to a recent report from the Guardian, Ratcliffe has been deeply impressed with Ten Hag since his partial takeover and as a result, the Dutchman’s job is SAFE until the end of the season at least. The reasoning behind Ratcliffe’s stance can be found here.

Fifth position in the Premier League may also be good enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League amid the competition’s expanded format.

United currently sit in sixth position and may be reliant on a wobble or two from Aston Villa and/or Tottenham above them.

UCL qualification plus another major honour in the form of the FA Cup could yet result in Ten Hag surviving Ratcliffe’s overhaul through the summer and beyond.

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