Three winners and one loser from Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag decision – opinion

Manchester United’s seeming decision to keep Erik ten Hag will affect his Old Trafford squad in different ways.

Erik ten Hag is under mounting pressure as Manchester United manager after a string of inconsistent performances that have left the club struggling to rescue their 2024/25 campaign.

United are currently 14th in the Premier League and have dropped out of the top eight in their Europa League group following consecutive draws. These results have sparked calls from fans for a managerial change.

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While many expected Ten Hag to be sacked during the October international break, a 0-0 draw against a formidable Aston Villa side appears to have bought him some time.

The Dutchman is set to return to Carrington on Monday to resume his duties. His next challenge is a Saturday afternoon clash against Brentford at Old Trafford.

His return suggests that the decision has been taken to keep the Dutch manager in the dugout for now. Although several players may benefit from this decision, others may be wary of the manager continuing in his role.

Winners: De Ligt, Shaw, and Mount

Matthijs de Ligt, Luke Shaw, and Mason Mount are three players who will almost certainly benefit from the decision to keep Ten Hag.

De Ligt has not enjoyed an easy start to life at United. After initial good performances and opening his goal catalogue with a fantastic header against Southampton, the centre-back has since been criticised for moments against Tottenham and FC Porto that saw him dropped against Villa.

However, Ten Hag has shown a lot of faith in De Ligt and will feel comforted that the Dutchman will continue. He has publicly admitted that he wants to play under a manager who knows him well.

Luke Shaw is another man who will be relieved to see Ten Hag still in the office. The English left-back has received plenty of criticism for his constant injuries, but Ten Hag continues to hold Shaw in high regard and will likely put him back into the XI as soon as he is fit again, which is set to be in the next few weeks.

This contrasts with other managers, who may take a dim view of Shaw’s lack of consistent availability and start to plan for a future without the 29-year-old.

Thirdly, Mason Mount may also be happy to see Ten Hag continue at the helm for reasons similar to Shaw’s. The English midfielder has struggled with injury problems since he arrived at Old Trafford, but Ten Hag views Mount as a crucial part of his system.

When Mount returns, which is expected to be this week, there is little doubt that he will be integrated back into the side and play an important role under Ten Hag.

Loser: Amad Diallo

Young Ivorian winger Amad Diallo may be the one player in the squad who will be wary of United’s decision to keep Ten Hag.

Despite his obvious immense talents, Ten Hag has always shown some form of reluctance to play Amad. After a fantastic vein of form at the end of the last campaign and good performances this season, he has been dropped in favour of Alejandro Garnacho on multiple occasions.

This comes after it was revealed that Garnacho has even been suffering from a knee issue in the last few weeks, showing further that Ten Hag has sometimes opted to play an injured Garnacho over a fit Amad.

As United’s best right-winger, Amad has been unlucky not to receive as much game time as he should have during 2024.

After starting four of United’s opening five Premier League ties, he played just five minutes against Tottenham and Aston Villa.

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