Erik ten Hag has created a problem for himself at Manchester United, but at least it’s a good one. It’s been a while since the club have been in a position to look forward with optimism. That is down to the man who ended a six-year trophy drought and secured Champions League football in his first season as manager at Old Trafford.
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But the problem for Ten Hag is that, by overperforming in Year 1, he must now find a way to build on his initial success and be even better next season. As Saturday’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup final (stream the replay on ESPN+) showed, however, United have only reached base camp in their ultimate challenge of returning to the top of the game. The summit, occupied by City, still looks a long way off.
The next step for Ten Hag is to make United the best of the rest. His team are still too inconsistent and the squad depth too shallow for United to have any realistic hope of beating City to the Premier League title next season, but for progress to be made, they have to catch this season’s runners-up Arsenal and fend off the likely challenges of Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea.
All four of those teams will be better next season, either because their recent signings will have had time to bed in or the summer’s new arrivals will bolster depth and quality. In Chelsea’s case, it will be both, plus the arrival of new manager Mauricio Pochettino finally bringing some stability and focus to Stamford Bridge. But the big question hovering over United is: will they be better next season?
There are so many unresolved issues to be addressed in the days and weeks ahead. The biggest of them all is the situation surrounding the ownership of the club. Are the Glazer family staying? Are they selling? Are they attempting to sell some of their stake but keep a percentage? Those questions have been left unanswered for more than six months and there is nothing that Ten Hag can do to influence the outcome.
But he can make a firm decision on the future of goalkeeper David de Gea, whose contract expires at the end of June. A series of high-profile mistakes by De Gea have cost United in recent months — and he was at fault for Ilkay Gundogan’s winning goal in the FA Cup final — but sources have told ESPN that a new contract is on the table and close to being signed. If Ten Hag wants to accelerate United’s return to the top, he should offload the former Spain international and find a new No. 1. However, finances will be tight at Old Trafford this summer, due to last year’s £220 million recruitment outlay and a drop in commercial revenue in recent years, so De Gea may survive because other priorities must be dealt with.
