Erik ten Hag is officially staying on as Manchester United manager, according to the latest reports, with talks of potentially extending his contract having already begun.
The Dutchman was under huge pressure after delivering Man United‘s worst Premier League finish in history, as well as crashing out of Europe and the Carabao Cup, but it looks as though his side’s historic win over Man City in the FA Cup final looks to have done enough to save his job.
As first reported by the likes of The Athletic‘s David Ornstein, INEOS have made their “final decision” on his future and the memorable season sign-off against what remains the best team in the country has clearly proved enough to restore their faith in him for the foreseeable.
After the talks held on Tuesday, 11 June, the club are now said to be negotiating with ten Hag and his representation over him staying on beyond the current deal.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Erik ten Hag to stay as Manchester United manager. #MUFC end-of-season review culminated with decision to keep 54yo in position. After talks today Dutchman will remain at Old Trafford + hold negotiations over contract extension @TheAthleticFChttps://t.co/tAzM2Ld378
Ornstein details how the 54-year-old’s current United contract runs until June 2025, with an option to extend by 12 months, adding that the talks will determine whether that clause is set to be triggered.
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Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co. were said to be undecided on ten Hag given the disappointing domestic season, which was also accompanied by a number of unwanted records being broken at the club over the past 12 months or so.
This resulted in reports of early conversations with other managers, including newly promoted Ipswich Town and former United youth coach Kieran McKenna, after a shortlist of potential replacements is said to have been drawn up.
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Nevertheless, ten Hag looks to have survived the storm and with United scraping back into Europe by the skin of their teeth thanks to the FA Cup win – which also happened to be his second trophy in just as many seasons at the club – he is set to stay on for the next campaign at the very least.
Only time will tell whether ten Hag’s project at United will come to bear fruit and whether he will be a part of the overall rebuild in the long term under INEOS.
It also remains to be seen what will happen with the likes of Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho, both of which are currently loaned out from the club but around whom many questions regarding their future still remain.
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He and his squad, however it looks come August, will need to make a strong start to the 2024/25 season, that’s for sure.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
12th June 2024 
