ERIK TEN HAG looks set to avoid the sack this season.
That is because Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning a detailed structural review which will likely take up to two months.
Ineos owner Ratcliffe bought 25 per cent of Manchester United on Christmas Eve for £1.3billion and is undergoing the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
As part of his takeover, he and right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford want to do a huge audit of the football side of the club in an attempt to grasp the “performance challenge” on their hands.
And according to the Independent, that could see the Red Devils bring in not just a sporting director – but a director of football as well in a radical move to split the responsibilities across two people.
John Murtough is the current football director but he is at risk while Darren Fletcher is the technical director.
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Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell is the current frontrunner for the sporting director role – especially as he has family in Manchester – while ex-Liverpool duo Julian Ward and Michael Edwards could be targeted.
But the report adds Edwards would likely want £10million to return to club football while it would take a special offer to convince Dan Ashworth to leave Newcastle.
A new United CEO is also going to come in following Richard Arnold’s exit, with Jean-Claude Blanc the No1 candidate.
The report adds that the eight-week review will also assess other roles and significant appointments.
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But Ratcliffe and Brailsford are unlikely to make any major changes until the audit is completed in the spring.
And that should see Ten Hag keep his job as first-team boss until the end of the campaign, with the club unlikely to sack him so close to the off-season.
The Dutchman has been under pressure and remains the favourite to be the next Premier League manager to go amid poor form and various difficulties off the field, including a public fall-out with Jadon Sancho.
United sit eighth in the table – 14 points adrift of leaders Liverpool – and have already been knocked out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Reports continue to swirl around Ten Hag’s future with rumours he does not have the full backing of the entire playing squad who are split on the ex-Ajax chief.
SunSport revealed Ratcliffe is an admirer of Graham Potter and was considering bringing the former Chelsea manager in to replace Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
However, the new minority shareholder sat down for extensive talks with Ten Hag last week following his Christmas arrival.
‘FANTASTIC FEELING’
The gaffer insisted they are “on the same page” on many areas and was keen to stress the meetings were “very positive and very constructive”.
However, he also added he does not feel under any extra pressure to deliver trophies despite the new arrivals upstairs.
Ten Hag said: “That is not up to me. But from my talks I had a fantastic feeling after it.
“The personalities, their ideas, the process they want to go in — I am very positive about it.
“And I am sure it will be beneficial for Manchester United.”
Roughly a fifth of Ratcliffe’s £1.3bn investment will go towards improving Old Trafford’s dated and leaking infrastructure.
But fans hoping to see an immediate splashing of the cash in the January transfer window have been left disappointed.
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The club confirmed there will not be major, big-money signings arriving this month due to Financial Fair Play constraints.
Instead, the transfer window provides the chance for outgoings with Sancho expected to leave for Borussia Dortmund on loan – following fellow outcast Donny van de Beek to Germany for the second half of the season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
