Erik ten Hag 'has doubts about Manchester United exit route'

The Dutchman's future at the Theatre of Dreams is no clearer four months after Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in the club and assumed control of footballing operations.

Whether Ten Hag is sacked or keeps his job will come down to the new expert department forged by the INEOS founder, who has not yet given the ex-Ajax boss his public approval.

The Red Devils will face Manchester City in a repeat of last year's FA Cup final later this month, but they have flattered to deceive in the Premier League and finished bottom of their Champions League group.

Already guaranteed to finish outside of the top four, Man United saw their fleeting Champions League hopes officially dashed on Wednesday, where Borussia Dortmund's semi-final first-leg win over Paris Saint-Germain ensured that the Premier League would not be earning a fifth spot for the 2024-25 tournament.

Ten Hag still has a year left on his contract with the Red Devils, but despite insisting that he has no doubts about his future, he has supposedly admitted privately that he does not know whether he will still be at the helm next term.

As the 54-year-old waits to learn his fate, links have surfaced over a possible return to Ajax, where he made a name for himself in management by reaching the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League.

Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt both earned big-money moves to Barcelona and Juventus respectively after being taken under Ten Hag's wing, and Ajax will be on the hunt for a new coach when John van 't Schip leaves at the end of the season.

However, even