Erik ten Hag’s time at Manchester United looks to be coming to an end.
A midweek 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of Newcastle United heaped more misery upon the Dutchman, with the club having lost five of their last 10 games. Just days prior, Man United were on the end of another embarrassing defeat to fierce rivals Manchester City, who also dispatched ten Hag’s side 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Things at United look bleak right now, with in-fight amongst the dressing room threatening to derail their season even more than it already has. The 2023/24 campaign has seen the club hit with a string of controversy, ranging from the bizarre effort to bring Mason Greenwood back into the fold, which provoked huge backlash, to the public falling out between winger Jadon Sancho and ten Hag.
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While INEOS billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks set to be close to securing a 25 per cent share in United, which will reportedly see him seek to inject an investment of £245million to help improve the infrastructure around the club, ten Hag’s tenure looks to be untenable right now.
Performances on the pitch have lacked imagination, with United having seemingly regressed despite enjoying a relatively positive campaign last season. And with that in mind, Daily Star Sport took a look at the 12 individuals who could be primed to take over from ten Hag in the event he is sacked in the coming weeks…
Graham Potter
Sacked by Chelsea earlier this year, Graham Potter is still without a job. The 48-year-old saw his stock rise exponentially at Brighton, only for it to come crashing down after his tenure at Stamford Bridge. He has been linked with the Swedish national team job recently, but could he be tempted into making a Premier League return if ten Hag is sacked?
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Julian Nagelsmann
Recently, ex-Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann was named German national team manager, replacing Hansi Flick. The 36-year-old signed a deal until July 2024, meaning he will be available this summer for hire. While he may be focussed on all things Germany right now, if United sacked ten Hag and hired an interim manager until the end of the season, they could reach out to Nagelsmann to see if he would take up the job for next season.
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Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane left Real Madrid for the second time in 2021, and has not taken up a job since. He had been rumoured to be in-line to take up the France job once Didier Deschamps eventually stepped down, but the latter signed a new contract earlier this year. So, would the lure of trying to turnaround fortunes at Old Trafford tempt Zidane? Or would he be better of steering well clear?
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Hansi Flick
Recently sacked Germany boss Hansi Flick is out of work right now, and could be another option to replace ten Hag. During his time at Bayern Munich prior to taking up the national team job, Flick guided the German giants to two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup title and the Champions League back in 2020. United could do far worse.
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Roberto De Zerbi
One of Europe’s top young coaches, Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi’s name has been mentioned with a slew of high profiled jobs, including potentially taking over from Man City boss Pep Guardiola at some point. With De Zerbi seemingly having come in, and quickly taken Brighton to a different level in the post Graham Potter era, United might be open to the idea of trying to bring the Seagulls boss to Old Trafford, given how fast he produced results.
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Diego Simeone
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is out of contract this summer. While the likelihood is he will extend his contract, especially with Atleti having an excellent chance to win La Liga this season, would the prospect of a new opportunity potentially tempt him away from the Spanish capital?
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Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte has been out of football since leaving Tottenham in March, but could be another name United look at to replace ten Hag. However, given his nature of combusting, usually around the two season mark, bringing in Conte to Old Trafford seems like something incredibly unlikely to happen. It would be funny though!
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Kieran McKenna
Former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna has miraculously guided Ipswich Town from League One to second place in the Championship this term on a shoestring budget, whilst playing some eye-catching football. While true it is probably a step too soon for McKenna to take up the job at Old Trafford, appointing him as ten Hag’s replacement would represent a real outside the box move, one which may pay dividends if is meteoric trajectory continues.
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Steve Bruce
Look, to be honest, we’d all like to see Steve Bruce in the dugout at Old Trafford (we being every single football fan who is not a Manchester United fan). Appointing Bruce as an interim to replace ten Hag would however be an interesting twist mind.
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Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick has previously managed United as a caretaker boss in the past and looks to have turned around Middlesbrough’s season this term following a dreadful start. He could be an outside bet for the next United boss.
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Steve McClaren
If United do opt to sack ten Hag, would they turn to his number two, former England, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren, to take over? Probably not.
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Julen Lopetegui
And finally there’s Julen Lopetegui. The ex-Spain and Real Madrid boss left Wolves six days before their Premier League opener against United earlier this term and is currently out of work.
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- Erik ten Hag
- Manchester United FC
- Premier League
- Chelsea FC
- Bayern Munich FC
- Real Madrid FC
- Brighton Hove Albion FC
- Atletico Madrid FC
- Antonio Conte
- Ipswich Town FC
- Middlesbrough FC
- Wolves FC
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