Has Erik ten Hag given up? Man Utd stars believe manager knows he will be sacked as ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter is lined up to replace him

Ten Hag took charge of the Red Devils in the summer of 2022 and led them to a first trophy triumph in six years by delivering Carabao Cup glory last season. He has, however, struggled to generate consistent performances and results across his reign.

The United board have done little to quash the speculation regarding Ten Hag’s future, with new stakeholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe saying on that subject: “I’m not going to comment on the job he’s done because that would be inappropriate. What we have to do is make sure that the environment, the organisation, the people in the structure are right. We have to do that bit, so I'm not really focused on the coach but on getting that bit right. It's not for me to judge that. But we’ve made some quite difficult decisions in our time in business. We’ll just be logical about it, assess the facts and make a fair judgement. We're not a brutal organisation really. But sometimes you do have to make decisions, that may not be popular.”

The Sun reports that United’s first-team squad are of the opinion that a new manager will be in place for next season, despite Ten Hag recently stating that he has “no doubts” regarding his future and sees the Premier League heavyweights heading “in the right direction”.

United are, however, sixth in the Premier League table – 11 points adrift of the top four – and clinging to dreams of silverware in the FA Cup. There are suggestions that whatever happens from here, former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter will be drafted into the Old Trafford dugout for the 2024-25 campaign.