Manchester United’s hierarchy will meet on Tuesday after Ratcliffe watched Ten Hag’s side play Aston Villa

Manchester United decision-makers will meet in London within 48 hours of Sunday’s Premier League away game at Aston Villa as attention on manager Erik ten Hag continues to grow.

United’s executive committee has a long-running meeting scheduled for Tuesday, which will be attended by partners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford, as well as recently appointed people such as chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox. United co-chairman Joel Glazer is also flying in from the US to attend. A stop in Manchester is also planned for meetings.

The executive committee also includes the club’s chief financial officer, Roger Bell, and operations manager, Collette Roche. Since the INEOS investment, the leaders’ goal has been to meet once a month. It is not yet known whether the first team’s performance will be on the agenda on Tuesday.

The athlete has previously reported that the club’s co-owner Ratcliffe will be at Villa Park on Sunday to see the team in person for the first time since United’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Any final decision on Ten Hag’s future will come from the owners, with Ratcliffe, co-chairman Glazer and INEOS sporting director Brailsford forming a three-man committee. They would base their conclusions on recommendations from the people on the ground, particularly Berrada, Ashworth and technical director Wilcox.

Regardless, Ten Hag, whose team sit 12th in the Premier League having scored just five goals and failed to win either of their first two Europa League games, is likely to see immediate improvement from his team at Villa Park on Sunday requires fans and the club hierarchy to be convinced of his merits.

United gave much thought to replacing Ten Hag at the end of last season, speaking to a number of potential replacements as part of a vetting process before finally committing to the Dutchman following United’s unexpected win in the FA Cup final against Manchester City stood. United have opted to extend Ten Hag’s contract, meaning he will be contracted to the club until the end of the 2025/26 season.

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United also gave Ten Hag significant support in the transfer market, signing his former Ajax defenders Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt from FC Bayern Munich, as well as Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna, Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain and Leny Yoro from Lille. Ten Hag was also allowed to revamp his backroom team with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rene Hake and Andreas Georgson all joining the club.

Berrada and Ashworth publicly gave their support to Ten Hag in a media briefing on September 1, but also made it clear that the decision to stand by the manager was made before their official time at the club, although it is unlikely that they will were not consulted. Since Berrada and Ashworth spoke out, United have not won five of seven games, beating only Southampton in the Premier League and Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, with two particularly devastating 3-0 home defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham highlighting many of the shortcomings from last season remain anchored in Ten Hag’s setup.

Ratcliffe, meanwhile, is currently enjoying success in his other great sporting passion: INEOS Britannia reached the final of the America’s Cup, the first time a British team had competed for the trophy in 60 years.

Ratcliffe celebrated the America’s Cup victory on Friday (David Ramos/Getty Images)

Led by Ben Ainslie, INEOS Britannia beat Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to reach the final two places. Ratcliffe watched the decisive race from a chase boat on Friday afternoon and then celebrated with his team on the hull of the yacht. He lifted the Louis Vuitton Cup with Ainslie and was sprayed with champagne.

When asked about Ten Hag’s future at the BBC Sport event, Ratcliffe said: “I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach, but ultimately it’s not my decision.

“It is the management team that runs Manchester United that in many ways has to decide how best we run the team.”

Ratcliffe added that Berrada and Ashworth had not been in their roles long and “need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”

The last meeting of United executives was in Barcelona last month during the first phase of the America’s Cup, which Joel and Avram Glazer also flew in for.

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(Top photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images)