Report: Manchester United aim to make decision on new boss by end of month

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Manchester United’s board currently appears caught in two minds, whether to hire Mauricio Pochettino or Erik Ten Hag.

Eventually, a decision will have to be made which direction to go in, and this could be past approaching.

The Mail report the club are seeking to make a decision by the end of March.

The report states: “(John) Murtough and chief executive Richard Arnold are working through United’s managerial candidates over the coming days as they look to reach a decision on their next boss by the end of the month.”

Decision time

United have to get a manager in place by the end of the season, to give the club an overdue sense of direction.

The lack of clarity has not helped anybody, with supporters feeling disengaged off the pitch, and players lacking direction on it.

The first step for United is to pick their preferred choice. After that, negotiations could take a little while.

Even if both Ten Hag and Pochettino want the role, there is issue of compensation to be decided with their current club’s, although you would like to think this area United have researched and discussed already.

To complicate matters, this decision will be taken privately and not announced, until there is a formal acceptance and agreement, potentially only in late April or mid May

The Dutch season finishes a week before United’s, and there is a chance that if Ten Hag is the man, he could even fly over to attend the final game.

Settling on a choice of manager is key, as it then allows United’s recruitment team to press ahead with presenting potential summer transfers. Without knowing who is in charge, it is presently more difficult, especially when it comes down to holding discussions with players and their agents.

Ten Hag’s Ajax are locked in a tight title race in Holland, while PSG seem likely to wrap up the Ligue 1 title weeks early, despite a loss to Monaco yesterday.

At the least, for the club to reach an internal decision would be a forward step. Indecision is not a good thing, and the club risk talking themselves out of both candidates by stringing it out.