Sir Jim Ratcliffe held exploratory discussions with Thomas Tuchel last week regarding potentially replacing Erik ten Hag as Manchester United’s manager but has ruled himself out of the job. Ratcliffe, who controls United’s football policy, met Tuchel in Monaco, where the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea coach outlined his vision for United. But after the talks Tuchel is thought to have viewed Ratcliffe as not minded to offer him the role and elected to walk away from consideration. United’s season review, during which Ten Hag’s future will be settled, has entered a third week. The club have not set a timeline for this to be concluded. Other candidates who could potentially replace the Dutchman include Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto De Zerbi, who are not employed, the Brentford manager, Thomas Frank, and England’s Gareth Southgate. Any move for Southgate would have to occur after England’s Euro 2024 challenge, which starts on Sunday against Serbia and could go on until the final on 14 July.