Erik ten Hag wants INEOS to honour Manchester United contract clause despite structure changes

Erik ten Hag wants to still be an integral member of Manchester United transfer decisions following the announcement of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s successful bid for 25% of the club.

One of the main terms of Sir Jim Ratcliffe buying 25% of Manchester United for £1.2 billion was that his INEOS group would be in charge of footballing operations. This means that United will have to run everything football-related, transfers in and out, and the future of managers, such as Erik ten Hag, past the billionaire’s team before anything is in action, with Ten Hag’s responsibility and say in transfers being reduced.

However, according to an ESPN source, Ten Hag still wants to be heavily involved with United’s transfer business, and he has had a veto since joining the club in 2022.

Read More: Manchester United starlet names Cristiano Ronaldo as one of three favourite players in training

The Dutchman’s transfers have come into question with loan signings of the likes of Wout Weghorst and spending €100 million on Antony, who to say has been struggling in his time at the club would be an understatement.

Ratcliffe’s right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford, who is the Director of Sport at INEOS, is said to want to do a complete overhaul of United’s scouting network, but the report’s source has said that Ten Hag’s veto is written into his contract, so regardless of what Brailsford wants to do, he will have to get the manager’s opinion.

Brailsford has been seen around United’s training ground, Carrington, as well as being present at the 3-2 victory over Villa and the 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest on the 30th of December.

The source goes on to mention that Ratcliffe was at Carrington on Tuesday and will hold a meeting “in due course”.

Ten Hag has expressed his eagerness to work with Ratcliffe and INEOS after the announcement about the 25% stake, saying:

“They want to work with me, I want to work with them, we will have the conversations, the meetings. We will see.

“I think it’s a good thing, it’s very positive. We are looking forward to working together. INEOS wants to work with me in this structure, and I want to work with them.”