Roy Keane makes major 2024/25 prediction for Man Utd as he warns Erik ten Hag of important ‘message’ he received

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Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane has dropped his early prediction for manager Erik ten Hag and Manchester United for the 2024-25 Premier League season.

Erik ten Hag kicked off Manchester United’s tour earlier this month, with the Red Devils suffering a 1-0 defeat to Rosenborg in the first match of pre-season.

However, United bounced back from the Rosenborg loss in Norway and picked up a 2-0 win over Rangers at the Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland.

Ten Hag’s men are now in the United States for the second leg of their pre-season tour this month, with United suffering a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.

Following on from Sunday’s match at the SoFi Stadium in California, United return to action against La Liga side Real Betis on Thursday at the Snapdragon Stadium.

United will sign off their pre-season tour in the United States on Sunday after their showdown with Liverpool at the Williams–Brice Stadium in South Carolina.

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Keane’s prediction for Man Utd next season

Erik ten Hag will take charge of Manchester United for his third season after Ineos retained the Dutchman’s services following an end-of-season review.

The 54-year-old United manager oversaw a turbulent second season at Old Trafford, which saw the Red Devils finish eighth in the Premier League table.

Ten Hag’s future was in doubt over the course of the 2023-24 campaign amid a poor run of results and the arrival of Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe as United co-owner.

Despite United’s lacklustre Premier League campaign, Ten Hag ended the overall season on a high note after the Red Devils beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Roy Keane admitted that United’s 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup at Wembley in May provided “some breathing space” for Ten Hag.

However, the United legend insisted that the club “can’t” be finishing eighth again and predicted that the Red Devils must be “competing” for the top four next season.

“The cup game gave him [Ten Hag] some breathing space and rightly so, but he can’t be finishing eighth next year,” Keane said on The Overlap’s Stick to Football show.

“They [Manchester United] have to be competing next year in the top four, it’s going to be hard to win but it’s about competing, the records they’ve created the last 12 months in the league, it’s so poor.”

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Keane reminds Ten Hag of the ‘message’

United secured Europa League football for next season after their FA Cup triumph over Manchester City last season.

Ten Hag inked an extension with United this summer and is now under contract with the Red Devils until 2026 instead of 2025.

Keane said that Ineos and Co “didn’t want the uncertainty” about Ten Hag’s future going into next season and opted to extend his contract instead.

The 52-year-old former United captain argued that Ten Hag’s contract extension was a “message” that Ineos would show him a sign of support.

However, Keane argued that the United hierarchy would not be afraid to sack the Dutchman in “October or November” if results don’t improve next season.

“He only had one year left on his contract and they didn’t want the uncertainty going into the new season,” he added.

“The clauses will still be the same and it’s not to mean that they won’t get rid of him in October or November, it’s just a message to give him a backing.”