United maintain they will not make a decision on Erik ten Hag’s future until they have completed their review of their season.
Club sources say the review will take place this week while Ten Hag is on holiday. Ten Hag left England on Sunday after guiding United to their 13th FA Cup triumph.
External sources expect Ten Hag to be sacked after United finished eighth in the Premier League table and failed to qualify for the Champions League.
On the four previous occasions United have not qualified for the Champions League since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, they have changed manager either during or at the end of the season.
United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s refusal to offer Ten Hag assurances has also been highlighted as a tell-tale sign the club are preparing to change manager.
United have assessed potential candidates to succeed Ten Hag for a number of months. Roberto De Zerbi was among the coaches considered earlier this year and United have recently contacted representatives of the Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna.
Former Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, sacked by Chelsea in midweek, would both relish the chance to manage United.
Pochettino has coveted the United job for years and the majority of the players were in favour of the Argentinian taking over in the summer of 2022. United’s then-football director John Murtough opted for Ten Hag.
This season’s eighth-place finish was United’s lowest since 1990 and they suffered a Premier League-era record 14 defeats as United recorded 66 cases of injury or illness that caused a player to miss a game.
United’s uplifting FA Cup victory secured Europa League qualification and Ten Hag is the first manager to secure silverware in successive seasons since Ferguson in 2011.
An embattled Ten Hag said at his post-match press conference at Wembley “if they don’t want me any more then I go anywhere else to win trophies”.
“I am in a project and we are exactly where we want to be,” Ten Hag bristled. “We are on our way to constructing a team for the future.
“I will go with ups and downs. When I took over we were in a mess at United. The team is developing, the team is winning and at the end of the day it is about winning trophies and the team also plays to an identity.”