Earlier today, we held our subscriber-exclusive weekly Ask Ornstein session.

This is an hour of question-and-answer in which The Athletic’s subscribers can ask me for my views on anything from the world of football.

I have pulled together some of my favourite questions and my answers to them from the fifth edition of Ask Ornstein below.

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Want to ask me a question? Join us next Thursday for another edition of ‘Ask Ornstein’.

James S asked: How tenable is Erik ten Hag’s position at Manchester United in the light of recent results?

David Ornstein: Only the decision-makers at Manchester United can answer that because they are the only party with the power to decide what happens. Even if the players want him to go (I’m not saying they do), it’s not their call.

As of now, I have no information to suggest Ten Hag’s position is being considered or under threat. But we’ve seen in many situations at many clubs that this can change quickly because it’s a results industry and that is a more pertinent factor at Manchester United than most other sides. He will be the first to acknowledge that.

It would be stupid to make out he is not under pressure — there is pressure at Old Trafford when you’re winning, let alone when you’re losing. There’s pressure from the fans, media and wider public. The most pressure will come from himself. That will only grow if United lose at Fulham on Saturday.

But I don’t currently know of any talks or movement to part ways with him. These results will be a shock to all involved, especially after last season’s progress and the summer recruitment. For now, everyone will be focusing on turning it around.

Some feel there will be little change (of any description) at United until the ownership situation is finalised, with the proposed investment from INEOS still yet to be fully agreed and signed.

That’s not to say changes can’t or won’t happen before then, but I’m not aware of Ten Hag being ‘on the brink’.

Dan W said: Arsenal haven’t been at their fluent best in any game this season and Kai Havertz hasn’t been the replacement for Granit Xhaka that Mikel Arteta probably thought he would be. Do you see Arsenal going into the market to rectify this in January?

Ornstein: No. Havertz needs time and has Arsenal’s full support. When they next make a significant recruit, I reckon that will be a striker, but it will depend on all the normal factors like money, availability, existing options, injuries and more.

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There was no plan to sign a striker last summer and I suspect in an ideal world for Arsenal that would have been the stance for January, too, with the focus being on next summer. Let’s see if that changes, but I don’t know of it doing so yet.

Faisal P asked: Mauricio Pochettino has a tough run of fixtures ahead. If things don’t go to plan, could Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly look to replace him in January?

Ornstein: I think things would need to go spectacularly wrong for that to happen, Faisal.

The owners will naturally expect results to pick up and if they don’t to a satisfactory level, then I imagine they would look to review things next summer at the earliest. Monday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur does, however, feel like a massive game… for both Chelsea and Pochettino.

Greig E asked: Are Brentford really asking £100m-plus for Ivan Toney?

And Michael H asked: Which team is Toney most likely to represent on 1 February?

Ornstein: I don’t recognise that figure, but even if it is accurate, an asking price is not guaranteed to be the price a player sells for. Toney is 28 in March, returning from a betting ban and contracted until only 2025. As good a player as he is, I would not expect him to trade for the level of money you suggest, Greig.

Thanks for the question, Michael. As things stand, I suspect Brentford, but I don’t say that with a great deal of confidence. I’m not aware of any meaningful developments on his future and therefore a summer transfer looks more likely. That will give suitors six months to assess his performance levels and physical condition once he returns from the betting ban. That said, we all know anything can happen in the market!

Jonathan J said: What is the interest throughout the league for (Everton’s Jarrad) Branthwaite and (Amadou) Onana, if any?

Ornstein: Onana has already generated plenty of interest. There were enquiries, for example, from Manchester United last summer. They and others wanted to find out and be kept abreast of his situation.

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If the money was right, Everton may well have sold — especially given their financial predicament — but that didn’t happen and they’re benefitting from his services this season.

Branthwaite will be on the radar for many clubs — his performances warrant that — but Everton have tied him to a new contract and will have no intention of selling him as long as they stay in the Premier League.

Mike B asked: Why have the Manchester City P&S/FFP charges from the Premier League been put on the back burner and Everton’s have been prioritised?

Ornstein: Hi Mike, I’m not aware of the City case being put on the back burner. It is very different to the Everton case. City face 115 alleged breaches, whereas Everton face one alleged breach.

City’s alleged breaches are also very different to Everton’s and cover a much longer period. It seems all parties were ready for Everton’s case to be heard when it was (last week), whereas they are not in the case of City.

The expectation since the City news broke in February was that this could take years to resolve, so we’re going to have to be patient.

Callum B said: Hey David, any inside knowledge on Eberechi Eze’s potential new contract at Crystal Palace and Michael Olise’s contract, which was signed in the summer? Such as release clauses and anything else about Palace…

Ornstein: Eze’s is getting there, Callum, and I think Hodgson mentioned that in his news conference earlier today. Olise’s previous deal at Palace had a release clause, as did his Reading contract before that.

It appears a technique of his representative and that suggests there could well be another mechanism in his recently signed terms. But I don’t know for certain and even if there is, it could be quite complex — as we know from what happened in August.

Hitesh P asked: What is stopping Manchester United from hiring a director of football and what is the actual governance structure around recruiting and signing off on a player when it comes to ETH versus the recruitment team?

Ornstein: They have a football director, John Murtough. And a technical director, Darren Fletcher. That doesn’t prevent changes from being made by the current or potential future owners. On player signings, it’s a combined effort from the football team under Murtough, with Ten Hag of course having a major influence.

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There will naturally be input from Richard Arnold, the CEO and others on the financial and legal side. Then it requires board sign-off, which essentially comes from Joel Glazer.

I’m sure we’ll be explaining more about this on The Athletic in due course.

Calvin L said: With the Premier League TV rights being up for renewal after the 24-25 season, have there been any murmurings of any new streaming services besides Amazon who are looking to bid for some packages?

Ornstein: Hi Calvin. There hasn’t been much in the way of an update. While there has recently been a drop-off in the value of television rights elsewhere in Europe, there’s no reason for the Premier League to be concerned.

As another of my colleagues, Matt Slater, explained back in 2020, the state of play for Premier League TV rights is unlikely to change wildly until there’s a reason to change the model. That said, the major streaming players could easily become involved in the next round of bidding.

Dominic M asked: How in the dark are fans when it comes to transfers? There must be so much that goes on behind the scenes that means we shouldn’t get excited by the constant rumours during transfer windows.

Ornstein: The rise of transfer reporting means more comes out than ever before, but equally loads more is going on that doesn’t make it into the public domain. All journalists in this area hear/know info that, for various reasons, fails to see the light of day.

And there’s still a great amount we don’t find out about. Often our reporting is only scratching at the surface.

Even with the deals that do receive coverage, there is often a lot that goes on behind the scenes and is kept private.

(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)