Against the odds, the Dutchman inspired his men to a shock win, with goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo delivering Ten Hag’s second trophy as United boss in as many seasons.
It came off the back of a dismal campaign for United, who had slumped to an eighth-placed finish – their worst-ever ranking since the Premier League‘s introduction in 1992.
And with new owners having taken over at the turn of the year, the FA Cup final looked certain to be Ten Hag’s final game in charge… until United won.
As such, a galvanised United fanbase began to back the manager who had brought yet more silverware to Old Trafford, with INEOS forced to rethink their summer plans.
So much so, talks to bring ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel to the club were abandoned altogether.
According to pundit Marcel Reif, who spoke to German outlet BILD, United had been close to striking an agreement with the out-of-work Tuchel.
He said: “I would have bet a lot that Tuchel would replace Ten Hag. I recently had another conversation with someone who is very close to that. It was pretty far along, almost in agreement.”
Needless to say Ten Hag kept his job and was backed to the tune of close to £200million this summer, with Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Moussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte all penning moves to the club.
But the early signs suggest the United hierarchy might be picking up the phone and reaching back out to Tuchel, given United have one win so far this season.
Things started off strongly for the three-time European champions at home to Fulham on opening night, with newbie Zirkzee netting a late winner.
However, back-to-back defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool have already seen some calls for Ten Hag’s head just three matches in.
It’s claimed by The Guardian that Ten Hag only has a matter of time to start impressing the hierarchy, or else the INEOS bigwigs will pull the plug and hire a replacement manager.
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