Man Utd: Ratcliffe ‘talks’ to determine Ten Hag future amid strong Tuchel rumours

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will decide in the summer if Erik ten Hag is still the right man for the job at Man Utd, according to reports.

The British billionaire finally completed a deal to buy 25 per cent of the Premier League giants earlier this week, a year and three months after the club announced a strategic review.

Nice owner Ratcliffe is now expected to undertake an overhaul of the recruitment department at Man Utd, as well as invest significant sums in the club’s infrastructure, with the INEOS founder put in charge of footballing operations.

There were rumours before the official announcement of Ratcliffe’s arrival that he could think about replacing Ten Hag at Old Trafford with the club struggling for consistency in December.

Speaking earlier this week, Ratcliffe stopped short of backing Ratcliffe at Old Trafford long term, he said: “I’m not going to comment on Erik ten Hag, because it would be inappropriate to do that. But if you look at the 11 years that have gone since (former United chief executive) David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down, there have been a whole series of coaches, some of which were very good.

“And none of them were successful, or survived for very long. And you can’t blame all the coaches. The only conclusion you can draw is that the environment in which they were working, didn’t work.”

READ MORE: Mason Greenwood and four other red flags from Ratcliffe’s cosy press-pack chat

Man Utd have been in good form in recent weeks with Ten Hag leading the Red Devils to six wins from their seven matches in all competitions.

But the Daily Star claims that Ten Hag ‘will sit down with Manchester United bosses this summer to discuss his future’ as Ratcliffe looks to ‘consult with senior figures before deciding if Erik ten Hag is still the right man to manage the team moving forward into a new era’.

Ratcliffe ‘wants to wait until the end of this season before making a decision on Ten Hag’ with the new co-owner set to ‘monitor how Ten Hag works within the new footballing regime he’s now creating at Old Trafford’.

The British billionaire also ‘made it clear’ to Ten Hag that qualification for the Champions League this season is now a ‘priority’ for the Red Devils and the Dutchman.

Thomas Tuchel, who has mutually agreed to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, has now made himself available for the Man Utd job if Ratcliffe sees the German as the way forward.

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg wrote on X: “News #Tuchel: He is definitely taking a look at Manchester United. As reported in our show a few days ago and now confirmed again ManUtd appeals to him in the Premier League Tuchel can well imagine coaching #MUFC someday.

“He doesn’t see his mission in the Premier League as completed yet. FC Barcelona is still an interesting topic for him in summer. He’s on the list.”