EPL

Ten Hag straight down to work at Man Utd as club confirm Monday unveiling

By Sports Desk May 22, 2022

Erik ten Hag is set to outline his Manchester United vision on Monday when he holds his first news conference as Red Devils boss.

The former Ajax head coach has secured an early release from his contract at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, allowing him to get down to work in his new post.

A busy summer lies ahead for Ten Hag, with a host of players set to leave Old Trafford after a wretched season for the club.

Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Phil Jones and Jesse Lingard look set to depart, while doubts surround others, including Eric Bailly and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

A substantial clear-out is likely to be followed by a recruitment drive as Ten Hag looks to build a squad capable of putting up a greater challenge for a Champions League place.

United finished sixth in the 2021-22 Premier League season, accruing only 58 points, the fewest they have managed in the English top flight since the 1989-90 First Division campaign. They will play in the Europa League next season.

Ten Hag was at Selhurst Park on Sunday to watch United slump to a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace in their final game of the season, refusing to speak to a Sky Sports television reporter after the game when approached outside the ground.

United said the Dutchman would appear at a 12:00 BST news conference. He will be expected to give his views on United's season and how the club can improve their on-pitch fortunes under his charge.

The future of Cristiano Ronaldo in United's set-up will also likely be a matter for Ten Hag to address, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner having a year left on the contract he signed when arriving from Juventus last August. Ronaldo has scored a flurry of goals and reports have suggested Ten Hag sees him continuing to play a crucial role.

Ten Hag may also be asked about how he sees the role of Ralf Rangnick, with this season's interim head coach having joined the club with a view to taking on a consultancy role for the next two seasons.

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    The defender last started for Chelsea on March 2 against Brentford and since then has played just a few minutes for the club, as a late substitute in the FA Cup against Leicester.

    Yet he played the entirety of England’s 2-2 draw with Belgium on Tuesday, three days after completing 67 minutes against Brazil.

    The Argentinian is no closer to seeing the end of his team’s injury crisis with nine players currently ruled out of Saturday’s meeting with Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

    More squad members will be assessed after returning from international duty, including Chilwell, who took a knock to his knee against Belgium.

    “He didn’t play after Brentford, then he played only a few minutes against Leicester,” said Pochettino. “(Then) he started two games (for England).

    “It’s a surprise for us. It’s bad luck because he got a dead leg in the last moment against Belgium. Now we need to assess if he can be available.”

    Enzo Fernandez was set to return to the club’s Cobham training base on Thursday afternoon after playing twice for Argentina in the United States during the break, and is another player whose fitness will be checked on.

    Three names unlikely to feature on Saturday however are Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka, the latter after returning injured from duty with England Under-21s.

    The club confirmed this week that Romeo Lavia would be out for the rest of the season.

    The summer signing from Southampton has played just 32 minutes for the first team since arriving in west London for £58million and has suffered a series of setbacks.

    “It’s a difficult situation for him,” said Pochettino. “He’s sad. He only played 30 minutes, for a new player at the club.

    “When we signed him, he arrived with problems. He couldn’t train with us for the first months. Then when he was ready he suffered a problem in his feet.

    “He recovered, he played 30 minutes then got injured in December. Then he didn’t have the possibility to train. It’s really sad news.”

    However, top scorer Cole Palmer is likely to be available to face Burnley, having not featured in either of England’s games during the last week.

    The 21-year-old was injured for the Brazil game and was an unused substitute against Belgium.

    “I talked with him,” said Pochettino. “He’s a little bit disappointed because he couldn’t play with the national team.

    “The first game he had a small problem. He thought maybe he’d play the second game.

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  • Former Nottingham Forest and Liverpool defender Larry Lloyd dies aged 75 Former Nottingham Forest and Liverpool defender Larry Lloyd dies aged 75

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