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Manchester United will be unable to sack Erik ten Hag as head coach without first consulting Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a document published on the New York Stock Exchange has revealed.

Ratcliffe has agreed to purchase 25% of Man United, with the deal being announced by the club on December 24, but it has not yet been officially ratified by the Premier League.

The British billionaire is set to take over the football department at Old Trafford, and it has been revealed that any January transfer business that the club wish to undertake will have to be run by Ratcliffe.

A document on the New York Stock Exchange has also revealed that any decision on Ten Hag's future will not be able to be made without consulting the club's new minority shareholder.

The deal is not expected to be ratified until the end of the January transfer window, but Ratcliffe will still have influence over the club's business in the winter market.

There will also not be a major call on the manager's future without Ratcliffe being contacted, while John Murtough cannot be removed as football director unless INEOS are involved in the decision.

Ten Hag's future as head coach continues to be called into question, and the rumours that he could be sacked increased when the Red Devils lost 2-0 at West Ham United last weekend.

Man United also fell 2-0 behind to Aston Villa in the league on Boxing Day, but they managed to score three times in the second period to record a 3-2 victory over Unai Emery's side.

The win eased the pressure on Ten Hag, who will be bidding to lead the team to another three points in Saturday's away game with Nottingham Forest.

Man United will only play twice in January, taking on Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup before welcoming Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, and they will then not be back in action until February 1 against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ten Hag managed to deliver the EFL Cup to Old Trafford last season, in addition to securing a third-place finish in the Premier League table.

However, the Red Devils are currently in sixth spot in this season's table, six points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who still have a game in hand.

The 20-time English champions also finished bottom of their Champions League group, meaning that there will be no European football in the second half of the campaign.

Ten Hag has a record of 53 wins, 11 draws and 25 defeats from his 89 matches in charge of Man United, with 13 of those losses coming during the 2023-24 campaign.