Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has had his contract extended until 2026 – and the Dutchman is set to retain the transfer veto that he wanted to remain in place
Erik ten Hag will retain his transfer veto after having his contract extended by Manchester United‘s top brass.
There had been speculation that the Dutchman, 54, would lose his job this summer after overseeing one of the club’s worst campaigns in decades, although he did end the season with a flourish by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now calling the shots at Old Trafford and he and his football operations teams have been in talks with Ten Hag over a new contract after deciding to persevere with the former Ajax chief, with an agreement being formally announced on Thursday.
As outlined in a report by The Times, Ten Hag will retain the right to veto transfers – an agreement which featured in the original contract he signed back in the summer of 2022 when he joined United.
Mirror Football have previously outlined that Ten Hag had made it clear during talks with the club hierarchy that he was not prepared to relinquish control over identifying potential transfer targets and the team’s style of play.
United have had a chequered record in the transfer market in recent years and Ten Hag’s biggest signing, Antony, has failed to live up to expectations since joining from Ajax for a fee of
But it seems Ten Hag has got his wish after United opted to trigger the one-year option in his contract – which takes him up to the summer of 2026 – rather than hand him a new contract, meaning his transfer veto remains in place.
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The club’s new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, said of the news: “With two trophies in the past two seasons, Erik has reinforced his record as one of the most consistently successful coaches in European football.
“While the club’s review of last season highlighted areas for improvement, it also reached a clear conclusion that Erik was the best partner for us to work with in driving up standards and outcomes. This group of players and staff have already shown they are capable of competing and winning at the top level; now we need to do it more consistently.
“With our strengthened football leadership team now in place, we are looking forward to working hand-in-hand with Erik to achieve our shared ambitions for this football club.”
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