BREAKING NEWS: We are excited to announce that Thomas Tuchel, the former Chelsea manager, has been appointed as the manager of this Premier League team in a surprising turn of events.

After a string of five matches culminating in a draw with Aston Villa on Sunday, the 54-year-old manager finds himself at a crucial point in his career. Manchester United’s disappointing performances have left them in 14th place in the Premier League, raising concerns about the club’s direction.

Co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer visited Old Trafford on Monday to meet with chief executive Omar Berrada and Sir Dave Brailsford, the head of sport at Ineos. Among the issues discussed was the future of manager Erik ten Hag, as confirmed by a meeting between Ratcliffe and key officials in London on Tuesday.

Despite this speculation, Ten Hag remains focused on turning things around for United. During the match at Villa Park, he emphasized that if his job were truly at risk, the club’s leadership would have already informed him. He stated, “They would have told me by now; there’s no other narrative. We have open and clear communication. I speak with them daily, as part of our normal discussions.”

Ten Hag acknowledged the team’s struggles, stating that the squad feels disappointed internally. He added, “We know we have to improve, particularly in our goal-scoring.”

As speculation mounts about possible replacements, former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has emerged as a potential candidate. If Ten Hag were to leave, his assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy might take over on an interim basis. England manager Gareth Southgate has also been linked to the position.

A fan poll conducted by the Manchester Evening News identified several candidates for Ten Hag’s successor. Thomas Tuchel led the poll with 29 percent of the vote, followed by Zinedine Zidane with 16 percent. Van Nistelrooy came in third with 12 percent, while Massimiliano Allegri and Simone Inzaghi each received six percent of the vote.

Other candidates included Michael Carrick, who garnered five percent of the vote, and Kieran McKenna and Graham Potter, who each received four percent. Southgate received the fewest votes, with just three percent of fans backing him as the next manager.