Erik ten Hag makes feelings clear on Jonny Evans role after returning to Man Utd

Jonny Evans re-joined Manchester United earlier this month after his contract with Leicester expired in June – but it’s unclear how long he’ll stay at Old Trafford for

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Man Utd v Wrexham: Match Preview

Jonny Evans’ hopes of securing a long-term contract with Manchester United have suffered a blow after he was left out of their squad to face Real Madrid.

Evans, 35, signed a short-term deal with the Red Devils to allow him to play in their pre-season friendlies. The Northern Ireland international, who started his career at Old Trafford was a free agent after his contract with relegated Leicester expired last month.

Yet Evans won’t be involved against Spanish giants Madrid in Houston on Thursday. That’s because he’s travelled to San Diego with a group of emerging stars to play against Wrexham on Wednesday, with Erik ten Hag describing it as a “mentoring” role for Evans.

Ten Hag will be in San Diego to watch that game unfold but will travel to Houston at full-time to watch the match against Real. Although Evans is working with the youngsters, Ten Hag has confirmed he’s not interested in moving into coaching just yet.

Ten Hag’s comments suggest Evans will leave Old Trafford if he isn’t offered the opportunity to play first-team football. United do offer experienced players the chance to work with the U21s as a player-coach, with Paul McShane first taking on that role in July 2021.

Tom Huddlestone took over that position when McShane became United’s professional development phase coach in June 2022. While Evans might be interested in succeeding Huddlestone later down the line, he’s not ready to quit first-team football just yet.

Evans made his second United debut in the 1-0 win against Lyon in Edinburgh earlier this month. Ten Hag has thanked the three-time Premier League winner for playing in Scotland and travelling with the squad for their pre-season tour of the United States.

Jonny Evans is back at Manchester United… but it’s unclear how long for (

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Ten Hag told reporters: “I think he [Evans] helped us, as you said, [with] younger players, but also for numbers here. Not all the internationals were in and we had to manage the load from the players so that was really useful.

“Jonny wants to stay fit, he still wants a career. Last week I think he played a very good game against Lyon and you could see how he was mentoring the younger players and I think he was pushing the younger players to a higher level and that can be really helpful.

“So I’m happy we bring him in. He will be tomorrow in that game. So I’m happy he wants to do that and I think we help him as well.”

Evans will be a wanted man if he’s not offered a long-term deal by United. The experienced defender is closing in on 600 first-team appearances for club and country.

On United’s game against Wrexham, Ten Hag added: “We’ve been planning this over months, so we’ve known already for a long time how it has to look… Of course I go [to Houston], but after this game has finished, I’ll fly over.”