Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag to be relieved of duties, with Premier League manager ‘strong contender’ for job: report

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The future remains murky for Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after a difficult end to the season.

The Dutchman has come under increasing pressure as his Red Devils side limp to the end of a disappointing campaign.

United have one win in their last eight Premier League games, a slump in form that has seen them slide to eighth in the league table.

They could yet end the season with a trophy, with the FA Cup final still to come against Manchester City, but it may not be enough to save Ten Hag ahead of an expected summer of change under Sir Jim Ratcliffe's revamped leadership. 

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Thomas Tuchel, who will depart Bayern Munich at the end of the season, and England boss Gareth Southgate are among the names to be linked with the Old Trafford job.

But a report in The Telegraph suggests that Brentford’s Thomas Frank is also in the frame to take on one of the biggest jobs in football.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank applauds the fans after the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brentford FC at Anfield on November 12, 2023 in Liverpool, England.

Frank has impressed during a six-year spell with Brentford  (Image credit: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

The newspaper writes that United are yet to decide whether to stick or twist when it comes to replacing Ten Hag, but Frank is a “strong contender” who has “admirers” in Manchester.

Frank has been at Brentford for six years, taking the club from the Championship to the Premier League and consolidating their status as a regular top-flight competitor.

The Bees have finished as high as ninth under the Dane and have comfortably survived again this season, sitting 13 points above the relegation zone in 16th with one game to go.

However, Frank has a deal to 2027 with Brentford, and he would have to accept a role as a head coach rather than a manager at United, working under incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag is at risk of losing his job (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.