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Manchester United are in chaos – and it’s threatening to undermine Erik ten Hag’s impressive first season at Old Trafford, reports Steve Bates.

‌Protracted and confusing takeover talks have left United in a worrying vacuum at a crucial stage of the season. And Dutch sources close to the 53-year-old boss say Ten Hag is “concerned” that what should be a positive moment for the club could be derailed by the uncertainty caused by the club’s sale.

‌Having landed the Carabao Cup, booked an FA Cup Final with cross-town rivals Manchester City and made Champions League football next season a real possibility, Ten Hag wanted to push that momentum into the summer.

Yet leading transfer targets like Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, Inter Milan frontman Lautaro Martinez and Ajax defender Jurrien Timber are now all on the back-burner while rival bidders including Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim compete for control of United.

Those names could even be replaced by even bigger stars with Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe said to be a high-priority signing for the Qatari bidders if they succeed over billionaire United fan Sir Jim Ratcliffe. But while the club’s future is unresolved United are on the back foot and in turmoil compared with some rivals as the season draws to a close.

And that’s left Ten Hag in limbo. With the takeover ongoing, Mirror Football can reveal United have put a budget freeze in place preventing any recruitment of external consultants. And that’s the tip of the iceberg with the club hitting the pause button in many areas of the business.

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