The 2023/24 season is over for Man United. Despite one of the worst league finishes since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Erik ten Hag‘s men brought the season to a close in optimistic fashion by remarkably beating Man City in the FA Cup final.

Unsurprisingly, given how bad United’s season was being perceived, reports had started making the rounds before the game last Saturday claiming Ten Hag would be sacked regardless of what happened in the FA Cup final.

Now, the INEOS ownership is evaluating the season. No verdict has yet been reached, though the Dutchman’s future still remains in the wilderness.

In a few days’ time, we shall know who will preside over the United manager seat come next season. Should a new face arrive, he will have a fair few challenges to face right away. Here are the three biggest ones of said challenges.

What to do with Jadon Sancho

It is clear now that Jadon Sancho’s issues with Erik ten Hag were personal in nature and not due to stylistic mismatch on the professional front.

Given how quickly the England international has started showing signs of his promise once again in Germany shows the importance of feeling loved at your workplace.

A new manager will certainly be willing to re-incorporate Sancho into the United setup more than the Dutchman, because the club would prefer that over letting their very expensive acquisition go for a big loss now that he has starting showing signs of life.

In case the new manager also does not like Sancho, he will need to make it clear to the club as early as possible so they don’t end up having to pay him for doing nothing again, just like they did in the first half of this season.

Rashford’s future

United have already said goodbye to Anthony Martial, who once arrived at the club as a promising teenager. They’re now considering the future of another once-promising star, but the call with him is even harder to make, for Marcus Rashford is a local lad.

The narrative whiplash that has set because of Rashford’s 8-goal season on the back of an unprecedented 30-goal one makes things look worse for him than usual, for an 8-goal tally is closer to the England international’s average return per season.

Still, for the money he is being paid and the talent ceiling associated with him, these numbers are not good enough. Rashford can and will, of course, provide better numbers in the years ahead, but that may not necessarily happen at Old Trafford.

Rashford does have his suitors. PSG are lurking in the background as we speak. Hard calls need to taken always in business, regardless how much one’s heart wants things otherwise.

This will be the quandary Ten Hag’s potential successor will have to face, and he will do well to make that call nice and early before backing it up with positive results.

Mainoo’s long-term midfield partner

Kobbie Mainoo has been the breakout star for United this season. The 18-year-old has the composure of the veteran of 500+ games and occupies the part of the pitch the club had needed reinforcement in since the days of Michael Carrick.

That Mainoo is the future of United’s midfield is unquestionable. What does need to be asked, though, is who will partner him.

To answer this question, the manager will need to make a call on how to use Mainoo: does he play a deep-lying role or a box-to-box one? United need more deftness at the back, and just because a player is good on the ball shouldn’t always result in them being pushed up the pitch.

This is what the next manager will need to decide and then make a call on his midfield partner(s).

Conclusion

None of these calls is easy. They hardly are at this level of the sport.

At the end of the day, you can make all the hard calls you want as long as you can back them up with results.

Pep Guardiola, case in point, sent Man City legend Joe Hart packing the moment he arrived. Later, he sent away João Cancelo, arguably one of his most important and revolutionary defenders, the moment he became a problem in the dressing room.

More Manchester United News-

• Opinion: Manchester United should uphold their standards; fans don’t want an FA Cup parade
• Manchester United lose Erik ten Hag replacement option as 38-year-old PL manager set to sign new contract
• 20-year-old forward with 18 goals this season ‘highly-rated’ by PL rivals amid Man United interest

Results. Results are the what football managers live and die by. And that’s the rule that will govern whoever succeeds Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.