A Manchester United managerial candidate is said to have been astounded by what the club did during negotiations.
On Tuesday it emerged Ten Hag will stay as United manager, with the club’s hierarchy coming to the decision upon the culmination of an end-of-season review.
Despite enormous uncertainty surrounding Ten Hag’s future, United held talks with the 54-year-old, with both parties reportedly agreeing to continue the Dutchman’s tenure.
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Ten Hag’s existing United contract runs until June 2025, with an option to prolong by a further year, and they will now enter negotiations to extend those terms.
It has been widely reported that United had sounded out potential replacements for Ten Hag, with Thomas Tuchel, Roberto De Zerbi, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna having all been linked to the Old Trafford job.
However, the Times has claimed the club’s search for an alternative to the Dutchman was haphazard. As per the publication, one person on the shortlist was “astounded” by the low wage that he would receive if he took the United job.
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Meanwhile, another was allegedly left “unimpressed” by the low transfer budget, something the club hoped to rectify by selling the likes of Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood.
It was further claimed that candidates were so out of the loop that their representatives were made to contact third parties to ask if they had heard any updates.
SPORTbible has approached United for comment.
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Ultimately they decided to stick with Ten Hag, a manager who had overseen the club’s lowest positioned Premier League finish ever (eighth) and claimed only two more points than their lowest total of all time.
However, he also masterminded United’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City, becoming the club’s first manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to win trophies in two consecutive seasons.
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Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Premier League, FA Cup, Transfer News, Manchester City, Sir Alex Ferguson