Manchester United have confirmed this afternoon (4 July) that manager Erik ten Hag will remain at the club until June 2026 triggering the one year extension in his current deal.
All of this comes on the back of INEOS deciding to stick with the Dutchman despite several believing that they would sack him post the FA Cup final win.
This news may also not be too surprising given the fact that INEOS decided to keep him with many outlets reporting that the club are looking to extend his current deal.
So it has come to pass.
This is what the manager had to say:
"I am very pleased to have reached agreement with the club to continue working together. Looking back at the past two years, we can reflect with pride on two trophies and many examples of progression from where we were when I joined.
"However, we must also be clear that there is still lots of hard work ahead to reach the levels expected of Manchester United, which means challenging for English and European titles.
"In my discussions with the club, we have found complete unity in our vision for reaching those goals, and we are all strongly committed to making that journey together."
I like how Erik still points out that there is "still lots of work ahead" in terms of United competing at the top once again.
We even had word from newly-appointed Director of Football Dan Ashworth in which he said:
"With two trophies in the past two seasons, Erik has reinforced his record as one of the most consistently successful coaches in European football.
"While the club’s review of last season highlighted areas for improvement, it also reached a clear conclusion that Erik was the best partner for us to work with in driving up standards and outcomes.
"This group of players and staff have already shown they are capable of competing and winning at the top level; now we need to do it more consistently.
"With our strengthened football leadership team now in place, we are looking forward to working hand-in-hand with Erik to achieve our shared ambitions for this football club."
Some pretty strong words by the new DOF. It is quite refreshing to see him speak so soon into his reign. We hardly got much communication from the previous regime.
As we know, United are looking to improve the footballing structure and give Erik ten Hag all the people he needs to be successful at United, and hopefully for more years beyond his now new deal.
I like the fact that Ashworth pointed out that ten Hag has been "one of the most consistently successful coaches in European football" when looking at him winning two trophies (Carabao Cup and FA Cup) in the last two seasons. Words like that show how highly they rate the Dutchman.
But consistency is the key, something both Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth referred to in their comments.
Final Thoughts
However, I am really happy with this news. If you've been following me for a while, you'd know that I am a big admirer of Erik ten Hag's and believe he is the manager to take us back to the top.
When looking at what he's had to go through since taking over United two seasons ago - and that too a United side that was the worst in Premier League history in terms of points - it is a bit of a miracle as to how he's managed to achieve what he's achieved: two trophies in two seasons is only equaled by Jose Mourinho who also won the Carabao Cup but also the club's first-ever Europa League in his first campaign at the club.
One of Erik ten Hag's major achievements, which even eclipses Mourinho, is that the Dutchman has managed to get a significant amount of the fan base on his side. While there are those who would rather he be replaced, the majority of United supporters back ten Hag, a feat that we haven't seen since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
This for me, is the greatest accomplishment Erik ten Hag has had yet.
We don't give our support to any one unless we think there's something special about them.
Erik ten Hag is certainly that in my opinion. I don't think there are many managers who could've achieved all that he's achieved should they have experienced all the issues he's been plagued with in two seasons.
Imagine what he could do if everything is running smoothly and he were properly backed?
In Erik ten Hag I (dare I say 'we') trust.
Are you happy with the manager staying until 2026?
Background Image: Erik ten Hag | Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images via United In Focus