Jan Aage Fjortoft has revealed exactly when Erik ten Hag was told he was set to be dismissed at the end of the season following reports that the Dutchman will leave Manchester United following Saturday’s FA Cup final.
Speculation has been circling the Dutchman for months and particularly ramped up after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos purchased a stake in Manchester United in January.
Former Norway, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Barnsley striker Fjortoft, who now works in the media, tweeted at lunchtime on Friday: “To think that ONE game at Wembley is decisive for ten Hag’s future is lack of respect and knowledge for how INEOS works. Stay or go? Decided weeks ago.”
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The Guardian subsequently followed up on that by reporting that United have indeed decided to part company with ten Hag following this weekend’s cup final against arch-rivals Manchester City.
Fjortoft then hit X again to add: “Was always a gamble to think that this could be a secret till after the FA Cup final. I understand [ten Hag] was told the week before the Arsenal game. Well done to [Guardian journalist] @JacobSteinberg to get it confirmed.”
The game Fjortoft refers to is United’s one-goal defeat at home to Arsenal on May 12, which made it just one win in eight Premier League games for United since seeing off Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals in mid-March. The previous game had seen United lose 4-0 away to Crystal Palace.
Man U finished the season with victories over Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion, but that was still only enough for them to finish eighth in the table – the club’s worst performance since 1990.
Like one of his predecessors, countryman Louis van Gaal, ten Hag will nonetheless get the opportunity to sign off with a trophy when he leads his side out at Wembley in Saturday’s 3pm Wembley showcase.
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