ERIK TEN HAG is set for the second-biggest compensation payout of any Manchester United manager in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Ten Hag, 54, could be managing his final game as United boss after the trip to Aston Villa today.
After the 3-0 drubbing against Tottenham last week, it was widely reported that Ten Hag was given two games to save his job.
The first of those games ended in a 3-3 draw with Porto, with today’s test at Villa Park potentially do-or-die.
Club chiefs, including co-chairman Joel Glazer and Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe, are set to hold a meeting in London on Tuesday.
And while it is not clear whether the managerial situation is on the agenda, a decision could well be made over the international break.
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However, after handing the Dutchman a one-year extension to take his contract to 2025/26, it has now been revealed how much he could earn as a compensation package.
According to Goal, the former Ajax boss is in line to pocket £17.5million if United give him the boot – around half the figure saved by the after making 250 members of staff redundant.
That is understood to be £7.5m more than the £10m it would have cost the club to terminate his contract in the summer before he was handed an extension.
It is also a figure which is the second-highest among Red Devils bosses in the post-Fergie era.
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That title instead goes to Jose Mourinho, who was reportedly awarded £19.6m when he was sacked in December 2018.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the manager who replaced Mourinho and the longest-serving manager at Old Trafford since Ferguson, was paid £7.5m.
Ralf Rangnick – who warned the club needed “open-heart surgery” back in 2022 – made the most money for his time at United, raking in £15m after his six months in interim charge of the team.
Louis van Gaal was paid £8.4m after leaving United, while David Moyes was paid £5m.
These figures take the total sum of payouts the club has made in the last decade for managerial compensation packages to a staggering £73m.
In terms of potential replacements for Ten Hag, assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has been linked with the job on an interim basis.
However, he is said to have reservations about taking the job after a similar situation transpired during his time at PSV Eindhoven when he accused his assistant and senior players of conspiring with club directors in the Spring of 2023.
Other linked bosses include Gareth Southgate, Thomas Tuchel and Simeone Inzaghi.
But reports suggest the latter has rejected an offer, while SunSport exclusively reported how Tuchel turned down the job in the summer.
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THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.
And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.
If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.
The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.
He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.
None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.
Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.
Emery may well deliver the coup de grace to Ten Hag on Sunday — especially with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Kobbie Mainoo an injury doubt.
And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.
Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.
Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.
Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.
Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.
Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.
Thomas Tuchel would be a popular and gettable option but, despite being a fine coach and a very engaging man, he is considered something of a loose cannon.
Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.
Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.
Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.
Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.
Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.
So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
