​Manchester United's new technical director will conduct an evaluation review of Ten Hag

Manchester United's new technical director, Wilcox, will conduct an evaluation review of Ten Hag, as reported by The Telegraph. Over the next month, Manchester United's new technical director, Wilcox, will assess Ten Hag's qualifications and relationships within the dressing room, after which the club will make a final decision regarding Ten Hag's future.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Manchester United has tasked Wilcox with providing a detailed assessment of Ten Hag's strengths, weaknesses, and relationship with the team, in order to better determine whether his approach aligns with the overall style and philosophy the club intends to pursue, or whether a coaching change is necessary. If Manchester United decides to change managers, a complicating factor is the feeling that there are no obvious candidates to replace Ten Hag.

The starting point of this plan is to explore whether the coach can operate within the so-called "game mode," a model that Wilcox and incoming sporting director Ashworth are attempting to implement. Wilcox was officially appointed as the club's new technical director last Friday and watched Manchester United narrowly defeat Coventry City at Wembley, and is expected to closely evaluate Ten Hag's training sessions in the coming weeks. He will also engage in extensive conversations with the manager, staff, and players during the analysis process.

One of his tasks will be to determine whether there are any fractures between Ten Hag and the dressing room. Several players this season, including Sancho, Rashford, and most recently Ghana's Joe, have been affected by the Dutchman. Wilcox will also be tasked with evaluating whether Manchester United's difficulties this season are primarily due to dreadful injuries and personnel factors, or whether there are deeper issues, such as players disregarding instructions or the coach himself being too rigid and stubborn.

If it's the latter, Manchester United wants to understand whether Ten Hag is simply too inflexible or whether he is open to and capable of accepting and implementing any changes needed to his methods and conveying them to the team. Manchester United's management is aware that a decision on Ten Hag's future must be made before the end of this season so that Wilcox can provide his review opinions. Manchester United's final Premier League match will be away to Brighton on May 19th, and the cup final against Manchester City will be held six days later at Wembley.

Manchester United is still awaiting a compensation agreement with Newcastle for Ashworth, whose task at Old Trafford will be to form a coherent football structure around the head coach, technical director, and scouting, data analysis, performance, and medical teams, that is, the management of the entire football operation. However, it's becoming increasingly apparent that Wilcox will decide and push for a clear "game mode" shift that Manchester United intends to replicate at all age levels—a consistent style of play and identity. This is not just about determining a formation but about what the system should look like in practice.

Identifying and recruiting players most suited to this methodology will be crucial, as Manchester United aims to end the chaotic transfer approach of the past decade, characterized by varying management styles and methods. Manchester United will strive to avoid repeating expensive mistakes in the transfer market, such as with winger Anthony. Wilcox's appointment has been driven by Bellada, with whom he worked at Manchester City, and he is set to officially take over as Manchester United's new CEO in July, considered vital to the club's short-term and long-term plans.

If an outstanding coaching candidate could replace Ten Hag, his position may become unsustainable. However, aside from Harvey Alonso, who has already been confirmed to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, insiders at Manchester United believe that any new coach would bring a degree of risk. Manchester United believes there are some very interesting and talented young coaches in Europe, such as Bologna's Thiago Motta, Girona's Michel, Brighton's Graham Potter, and Liverpool target Amorim.

However, the challenge lies in ensuring that any new coach possesses the character, personality, and temperament to handle the pressure of such a large club and can work within the new, evolving structure, especially as it's recognized that there is currently no solid ecosystem akin to those enjoyed by Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Other coaches, such as Solskjaer and Potter, have also been linked with Manchester United and are considered excellent individuals and team collaborators, but many questions surround them, including whether they have enough personality to win the trust of the dressing room.