
Manchester United
Premier League • England
Ten Hag sack: Ratcliffe ‘decides’ to swing axe as Man Utd ‘open talks’ with Prem boss; Jaap Stam explains where it’s all gone wrong

Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag and, inset, Jaap Stam
Manchester United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly decided to sack Erik ten Hag at the end of the season, having made a current Premier League boss his top choice to succeed him, while Jaap Stam has also had his say on how the Dutchman has fallen short.
Little has gone right for the Red Devils this season, who have failed to build on a progressive first season under Ten Hag, with Manchester United crashing out the Champions League at the very first hurdle and in embarrassing fashion, while also sitting way adrift of the top four in the Premier League.
Indeed, while United did manage to close that gap on fourth-placed Aston Villa to eight points with a hard-fought win over Everton on Saturday, it would take quite a turnaround if they were to overhaul both Unai Emery’s side and Tottenham in fifth for that all-important top-four spot.
And with United having already lost 11 times in the Premier League this season, pressure has been stacked on the Dutchman’s shoulders, and moreso with ambitious new minority shareholder Ratcliffe gaining full sporting control at Old Trafford.
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Indeed, TEAMtalk exclusively broke the news earlier this month that many at the club already feel Ten Hag is a dead man walking at Old Trafford, with a number of senior stars expecting the axe to fall this summer.
Since our report, the likes of the Daily Mail and the Manchester Evening News have backed up that theory, also suggesting time will be up for Ten Hag come the summer.
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Such an act will cost United £12m in compensation; a heavy price to pay for a club who continue to have to monitor carefully their expenditure and ensuring they don’t fall on the wrong side of FFP.
Despite that, speculation over whom might replace Ten Hag in the United hotseat has gathered serious momentum in recent weeks, with a report detailing the three top candidates shortlisted by the British billionare to succeed the Dutchman in the hotseat.
Of those three, two were already working in the Premier League, in Roberto De Zerbi and Thomas Frank, while a third – in England coach Gareth Southgate – is also currently under contract until December of this year.
As far as the Three Lions coach is concerned, TEAMtalk has revealed why that interest is genuine and has rated their chances of pulling off a deal
However, reports in Spain now claim Ratcliffe’s number one pick for the job is actually De Zerbi, with National claiming Ratcliffe has ‘decided to sack Ten Hag’ and is now ready to ‘interefere with Barca’s search for a new coach’
And with the highly-rated Italian also wanted by the Spanish giants, it’s claimed Ratcliffe is already ‘negotiating’ with the Brighton boss having decided he is the ‘the name they have in mind’ to step into the hotseat.
De Zerbi, contracted to Brighton until 2026, recently opened up on his future, stating: “When I hear the big teams are interested in me, it’s an honour, but my focus is on my work day by day.
“About the future? I want to compete in the best way I can, I want to understand the plan and then it’s not a problem to work at a big team. I would like in my career to compete to win the Premier League, Serie A, the, Bundesliga, Champions League – but there isn’t a time when have to go.”
Jaap Stam has his say on Ten Hag struggles
With Ten Hag seemingly on his way at the end of the season, former United defender Stam has had his say on where it has all gone wrong for Ten Hag.
And he claims his countryman has been unable to stamp his style down at Old Trafford, with a number of injuries doing little for the club’s confidence.
“Every time when I come over here (to Old Trafford), you expect Man United to play a certain way,” he told Premier League Productions.
“What Erik can do and what we saw at Ajax, how we like him to play with his team – on the front foot, a lot of possession, dominating the game and creating opportunities.
“We haven’t seen it a lot, not even last season, sometimes this season you see little bits of it but after a few minutes it’s gone then the opponent is pushing on and they’re more dangerous.
“They hardly dominate games that’s what we want to see more of but with the injuries it doesn’t help the manager playing a certain style of play, it does a lot with the confidence when you’re changing personnel. Hopefully he can still get it right and turn it around.”
United now face a season-defining run with a FA Cup quarter-final tie against Liverpool at Old Trafford, before crunch Premier League games with Brentford, Chelsea and then Liverpool again.
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