Manchester United have accidentally leaked two clues that reveal Erik ten Hag decision

The similarities between Louis van Gaal in 2016 and Erik ten Hag in 2024 are clear to see.

There has been some awful football in the build-up to the FA Cup final, a string of disappointing results and headlines linking other managers with the biggest job at Old Trafford.

Manchester United stayed silent before Van Gaal was sacked and their silence has been telling in the weeks leading up to this season's FA Cup final against Manchester City.

Although it wouldn't have taken much for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to have given Ten Hag a vote of confidence in public and to confirm the Dutchman will remain in charge next season, there's been tumbleweed instead and the silence has suggested a change is being considered.

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Van Gaal didn't receive the backing of United before the FA Cup final in 2016 and reports indicating he would be sacked were rife - and were subsequently proved to be correct.

It would be a shock if a change hadn't been weighed up. United have spectacularly regressed this season, crashing out of Europe before Christmas and finishing eighth in the Premier League, and Ten Hag has ultimately been responsible for a mostly joyless campaign.

The FA Cup final is an opportunity to salvage something from a bleak season, but INEOS are savvy operators and won't base their Ten Hag decision on one game of football.

There are months of evidence to consider and it doesn't bode well for Ten Hag, who enjoyed an excellent first year but has overseen new, embarrassing lows this term.

INEOS had done well to keep their plan for Ten Hag under wraps, but it's emerged in the last few days that contact