Man United 'held face-to-face talks' with shock manager to replace Erik ten Hag

Manchester United spoke to Fulham manager Marco Silva before deciding to stick with Erik ten Hag moving forward, according to reports.

It comes after the club confirmed that Ten Hag would lead United into a third season following an expansive end-of-year review in which a number of candidates were spoken to.

More established names in Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi were considered as well as Mauricio Pochettino, Gareth Southgate, and even Brentford's Thomas Frank. Kieran McKenna was also looked at before he signed a new deal at Ipswich.

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One name that was largely kept out of the public domain though was Silva. After leading Fulham to another mid-table finish - 13th place and 47 points compared to 10th and 52 in his first year back in the Premier League - he reportedly met with United in the week before the FA Cup final.

The Athletic say that just two days before the final, around the time Ten Hag had his pre-match press conference confirming plans to stay for the 2024/25 season despite some suggestions a decision to sack him had already been made, United met face-to-face with Silva.

Silva was also a name linked as an outsider for the vacant Chelsea job at the time. United were also discussing De Zerbi that week whilst Tuchel and Pochettino were spoken to as well during the same period. It is also said that Ruben Amorim - a name spoken about in connection with Liverpool, West Ham, and Chelsea - was also discussed, as was Roberto Martinez.

United opted to stick with Ten Hag though, and he is now in a position to sign a possible contract extension as well. Winning the FA Cup, as well as the achievement of trophies in each of his first two years in charge, has been recognised by Ineos and the think-tank under Sir Jim Ratcliffe as reasons for Ten Hag to be backed.

United are also impressed with Ten Hag's work with young players and noted the mitigation that led to the struggles through 2023/24.