Manchester United held ‘face-to-face’ talks with shock manager before Erik ten Hag decision

Erik ten Hag will be Man Utd boss next season (Photo: Getty)

A surprising Premier League manager had ‘face-to-face’ talks about replacing Erik ten Hag at Manchester United , according to reports.

On Tuesday it was confirmed that United had decided to keep Ten Hag in the dugout following their lengthy post-season review.

It was widely expected that the Dutchman would be sacked after a miserable season where the Red Devils recorded their worst Premier League finish in history and were knocked out of the Champions League group stage.

But a stunning win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final and the lack of any other outstanding managerial candidates saw INEOS change their mind.

There were plenty of names linked to Old Trafford with reports initially suggesting that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co. had drawn up a four-man shortlist of replacements.

This featured now former Bayern Munich and Chelsea managers Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, Brentford boss Thomas Frank and Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna.

England boss Gareth Southgate was also under heavy consideration, as was Roberto De Zerbi following his departure from Brighton.

Marco Silva has managed Fulham since 2021 (Photo: Getty)

The Athletic report that all bar Southgate had been in discussions with United’s hierarchy in some form or another, but add that there was another candidate under consideration.

It is said that Fulham manager Marco Silva met ‘face-to-face’ with club executives on the Thursday before the FA Cup final, ‘around the time’ Ten Hag wasconducting his pre-match press conference.

While well-regarded, Silva has never really been strongly linked with United or indeed any top job in the Premier League.

The Portuguese previously had spells at Hull, Watford and Everton before moving to Craven Cottage in 2021, where he won the Championship before establishing Fulham as a solid mid-table top-flight side.

He wasn’t even the only former Everton boss in the running, with the report adding that Roberto Martinez, who could lead Portugal to glory at Euro 2024, was also considered early on.

The 50-year-old hasn’t managed at club level since getting the sack at Goodison Park in 2016 and would have arguably been an even more rogue shout than Silva.

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