Man Utd were 'close' to replacing Erik ten Hag with top European manager but club's transfer policy 'killed' deal

Manchester United came 'close' to replacing Erik ten Hag with a top European manager but the club's transfer policy scuppered the deal.

Erik ten Hag's days at Old Trafford looked number after Man United finished eighth in the Premier League last season, their worst top flight campaign in over 30 years.

While victory in the FA Cup final likely helped save his job, United did still look around for potential alternatives.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe-led Ineos, which took over the footballing side of operations at Old Trafford earlier this year, were interested in several different big-name managers.

Now it appears that former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel came close to replacing Ten Hag.

However, Tuchel - who left Bayern at the end of last season - was put off joining United by the club's transfer policy.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, German pundit Marcel Reif explained that United were unwilling to give Tuchel the level of control over transfers that he demanded.

"I would have bet a lot that Tuchel would replace Ten Hag," Reif said.

"I recently had another conversation with someone who is very close to that. It was pretty far along, almost in agreement."

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When asked why the move then failed, Reif said: "As far as the squad is concerned, the considerations were different. "Tuchel said pretty much at the finish line: ‘I’m not doing that! I won’t do that to myself again, that I go to a club and then things come from outside.'"

United bosses decided ahead of the summer that they wanted to change transfer strategy, as they felt it was an area that Ten Hag had too much influence over.

That said, Ten Hag appeared to still have a big say over transfers in the recent transfer window. Two of United's five signings - Mathijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui - played under Ten Hag at Ajax.