Erik ten Hag has spilled the beans on Manchester United‘s sneaky chats with Thomas Tuchel, but he’s adamant he’s still the top dog for the job.
The 54-year-old gaffer had a rough ride last season, and the rumour mill was buzzing that he might get the boot, especially before his squad won the FA Cup against Manchester City. But even that Wembley win didn’t shut down the whispers about his gig being up for grabs as the United bigwigs pondered giving him the old heave-ho.
Rumours swirled that United’s honchos were nattering with other potential managers while Ten Hag was left hanging for two and a half weeks waiting to hear if he was still in charge. The club fessed up to Ten Hag about their chinwag with Tuchel before deciding to stick with their current man.
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Speaking on NOS’ Euro 2024 coverage, Ten Hag said: “Manchester United have told me that they spoke with Tuchel, but they eventually came to the conclusion that they already have the best manager.”
He added: “Manchester United and I still have to find an agreement for the new contract. This isn’t easily done, we are still going to have to talk about this,” reports the Mirror.
(Image: Getty Images)
With the gossip grapevine suggesting United might swap bosses, a bunch of names got tossed around, like Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Frank. But it was Tuchel, who snubbed extending his time at Bayern Munich, that everyone thought would be the one to take over from Ten Hag.
United suffered a record worst Premier League season under Ten Hag last term, finishing eighth in the table after suffering a record 14 defeats in their 38 games – and also came bottom of their Champions League group.
But Ten Hag rescued the Reds’ season by delivering a huge shock to defeat the champions at Wembley and deliver Europa League qualification.