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Manchester United’s 1-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham on Sunday left them languishing in 14th position in the Premier League and that finally proved to be Erik ten Hag’s undoing.
While the former Ajax coach will point to two trophies won during his tenure, the truth was results and the football on show were dire since last season while he also lost the dressing room due to his bizarre selection calls.
INEOS had been delaying the inevitable for a long time citing severance pay and the lack of quality replacements on offer but finally decided to pull the plug on the Ten Hag era with Ruud van Nistelrooy placed in interim charge.
The United hierarchy will have to pay the former Ajax coach £17.5 million in compensation after the club triggered the one-year extension option in his contract.
EtH payment package
If they had taken the decision after the end of last season, they could have saved £7.5 million. This was United’s second largest severance payment since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Jose Mourinho reportedly had earned an astonishing £19.6 million back in 2018, another example of keeping a manager well past his expiry date.
Reports have been doing the rounds stating the new co-owners do not have the purse to pursue a big-name manager, and hence out-of-work managers like Gareth Southgate, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Xavi are the likely options.
However, TBR Football have rubbished those claims. As per journalist Graeme Bailey, INEOS are ready to pay a hefty compensation package to land Ten Hag’s replacement.
Apart from Ten Hag’s severance pay, any manager who is currently in a job will likely need to be paid a handsome sum to take up the challenge at Old Trafford while his current employers will require a major payout.
INEOS ready to pay big
“TBR Football understands that United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has underlined that the club will pay for a new manager, if required, so approaching an in-work candidate is not an issue to them.
The Peoples Person has relayed that Brentford’s Thomas Frank, Ruben Amorim of Sporting Lisbon, and Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann are among the elite options being looked at.
There have also been links with Newcastle’s Eddie Howe and Simone Inzaghi of Inter Milan. And all of these names are expected to cost a significant sum.
This cycle of hiring and firing simply cannot continue and INEOS simply need to get this appointment right. All eyes now on Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his newly-formed team.
