Erik ten Hag's Man United future hanging in the balance ahead of Aston Villa with meeting planned

Erik ten Hag's future at Manchester United is hanging by a thread ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash away at Aston Villa.

Manchester United's top brass are set to hold a crunch meeting in London next Tuesday, just two days after what could be Erik ten Hag's final match at the helm.

The Dutch manager is feeling the heat, with his job potentially on the line if United suffer their fifth loss of the season against Aston Villa this Sunday.

Last Thursday, United seemed poised for their first win in four matches when they took a two-goal lead against Porto in the Europa League. However, Ten Hag's men squandered their advantage and found themselves 3-2 down with only 10 players left as extra time loomed.

Luckily for the embattled United boss, Harry Maguire rescued a 3-3 draw, despite Bruno Fernandes' sending off reducing them to 10 men. A defeat to Villa could be the last straw, with the club's hierarchy due to meet for talks next week.

According to the Mirror, this long-planned meeting will take place at the club's Kensington offices, with Joel Glazer expected to fly in from the USA to attend. Glazer, who still serves as the club's executive co-chairman, is likely to be joined by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS head of sport Sir Dave Brailsford, United CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.

Chief financial officer Roger Bell and chief operating officer Collette Roche are expected to attend an upcoming meeting, as reported by the Mirror. The future of Erik ten Hag, who is in his third season after a £600m investment in new talent, may be on the agenda.

Speaking to BBC Sport, British billionaire Ratcliffe declined to comment on Ten Hag's position, leaving it to Berrada and Ashworth. He remarked: "I like Erik. He's a very good coach but at the end of the day it's not my call."

Ratcliffe emphasised that the management team at Manchester United, including Berrada and Ashworth, only came together in the summer.

"It's the management team that's running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects. But that team that's running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. Get involved! Does Erik ten Hag deserve the sack? Have your say in the comments section."

He noted that Berrada and Ashworth were not part of the team earlier in the year: "They weren't there in January, February, March or April - Omar, Dan Ashworth - they only arrived in July."

Ratcliffe added: "They've only been there - you can count it in weeks almost - they've not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions."

Amidst the speculation over the managerial role, Ratcliffe has a firm grasp on United's ambitions. He declared: "Our objective is very clear - we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be. It's not there yet, obviously - that's very clear. There's work to be done."