Manchester United ‘held face-to-face talks’ with shock manager to replace Erik ten Hag after Ratcliffe announced he will be continuing at Old Trafford next season
Manchester United met with Fulham boss Marco Silva before electing to continue with Erik ten Hag going ahead, according to reports.
It comes after the club announced that Ten Hag will manage United for a third season following a thorough end-of-year evaluation in which a number of applicants were interviewed.
More famous options like as Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi were discussed, as were Mauricio Pochettino, Gareth Southgate, and even Brentford’s Thomas Frank. Kieran McKenna was also considered before signing a new contract with Ipswich.
Silva, on the other hand, remained mostly out of the public domain. After leading Fulham to another mid-table finish (13th place and 47 points compared to 10th and 52 in his first year back in the Premier League), he allegedly met with United in the week leading up to the FA Cup Final.
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According to The Athletic, United spoke with Silva just two days before the final, around the time Ten Hag had his pre-match press conference announcing plans to stay for the 2024/25 season despite speculation that a decision to fire him had already been reached.
Silva was also considered an outsider for the vacant Chelsea position at the time. United were also talking about De Zerbi that week, as were Tuchel and Pochettino. Ruben Amorim, who has previously been linked to Liverpool, West Ham, and Chelsea, was also mentioned, as was Roberto Martinez.
United chose to keep Ten Hag, and he is now eligible for a contract extension. Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s think-tank have cited Ten Hag’s FA Cup victory, as well as his attainment of trophies in each of his first two years in command, as reasons to support him.
United are especially impressed with Ten Hag’s work with young players, citing the mitigation that contributed to the troubles in 2023/24.
