Manchester United reportedly began to search for Erik ten Hag's replacement almost immediately after the Dutchman signed a new contract in the summer.

Ten Hag was expected to leave the Reds in the summer after a disappointing campaign but winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City bought him some more time. While Thomas Tuchel was spoken to about becoming the new manager, the decision was made to extend Ten Hag's contract by a further year.

The Dutchman went on to sign five new players at a considerable cost of £200m, only to be sacked at the end of October, with United sitting 14th after their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign. According to The Telegraph, Ineos had only just decided to stick with Ten Hag when they began the search for his successor.

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It is believed the main contributing factor behind extending Ten Hag's stay at the club was the fact the sporting leadership group at Old Trafford had not yet been completed. As such, they did not want to commit to a long-term decision without the likes of Dan Ashworth (who has now left), Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox fully in position.

Even so, it is believed that Ten Hag would have been afforded more time if United had started the season better. Should this version of events be correct, it would make sense considering how quickly Ineos managed to appoint their successor.

Ruben Amorim was approached and had signed a deal at United four days after Ten Hag was sacked. Since joining, the Portuguese has won four of his opening nine matches in charge of the Reds with his tenth coming away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day.