When Manchester United are expected to make final decision on Erik ten Hag after Champions League exit

Manchester United crashed out of Europe following defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday evening, and questions have been pointed towards Erik ten Hag again.

The Champions League loss left United rock bottom of their group. They weren’t able to even qualify for Europa League knock-out football.

Erik ten Hag‘s future at the club has not looked certain at any point in the last few months, and the club’s worst-ever Champions League campaign will not make that any easier for the manager.

Read More: Julen Lopetegui favourite Erik ten Hag replacement as Man United consider four options

It was only last month – when The Reds lost 3-0 against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup – which saw reports claim that there was a growing feeling of unrest within the squad, with some players beginning to lose faith in Ten Hag and his methods.

The Athletic have stated that question marks have arisen over decisions to leave Raphaël Varane out of the team and the harshness over Jadon Sancho’s first-team exile. Ten Hag saying he ‘wanted more football’ when replacing Casemiro at Brentford was said to not go down well either.

Spanish outlet Revelo has since reported that Erik ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford is now ‘very extreme’ and that former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui is considered to be the favourite option to replace the Dutchman.

He is one of four candidates that the club are said to be considering to replace Ten Hag should the Dutch manager part company with Old Trafford, with Lopetegui ahead of the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Graham Potter, and Roberto De Zerbi.

The aforementioned report explained that Old Trafford executives see the January transfer market as the perfect opportunity to release some players so that reinforcements can be made to improve the squad. This is why they want to make a decision on the managerial situation before the mid-season window opens.