The favourites to replace Erik ten Hag as Man United manager

Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag after the club’s troubled start to the season continued with a 2-1 defeat at West Ham United on Sunday.

The loss came three days after they were held by Fenerbahce in the Europa League – results that left United without a win in Europe this season and in 14th position in the Premier League.

Ten Hag signed a new contract in the summer and departs Old Trafford after two-and-a-half years in charge – so who might be on the club’s list to replace him?

 

Ruud van Nistelrooy

The former Manchester United striker returned to the club to become an assistant to Ten Hag as part of a coaching reshuffle in the summer – and has now been put in temporary charge of the team.

He enjoyed five prolific seasons as a striker at the club after joining in 2001, scoring 150 goals – a tally that puts him 11th on the club’s all-time list.

He had been out of work since quitting as PSV Eindhoven manager just before the end of the 2022-23 season after he had won the Dutch Cup in his first term, with players unhappy about his coaching methods.

The 48-year-old has also had two spells as assistant manager with the Netherlands, but will his relative managerial inexperience and his involvement in the current regime work against him for a long-term role as United boss?

That said, given Ten Hag’s struggles, some fans are now remembering fellow Old Trafford legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s spell more fondly.

So could the hierarchy believe another former fans’ favourite is the way to go once again?

 

Xavi

One La Liga title in two-and-a-half years was not enough for Barcelona to offer club legend Xavi an extended stay in the dugout.

The 44-year-old did, however, keep the Catalan giants dining at football’s top table during a lengthy period of financial uncertainty and upheaval, and is known for producing an attractive style of football.

The prospect of him following one-time mentor Pep Guardiola to the Premier League is an alluring one for football purists.

A chance at Old Trafford might be too good for Xavi to resist, but Spanish football expert Guillem Balague says the former midfielder has not heard from United and remains keen on a break until the summer.

 

Ruben Amorim

Sporting boss Amorim was heavily linked with Liverpool before they appointed Arne Slot and while he is not yet 40, he already has considerable pedigree.

Amorim led Sporting to a first league title in 19 years at the age of just 36 in 2021 and won his second with the club last season.

A former Benfica and Portugal midfielder, Amorim retired as a player in 2018 and first made his mark as a coach the following year, when an impressive stint in charge of Braga’s reserve team saw him promoted to first-team manager.

Ten wins in 13 games – including a first victory at Benfica for 65 years – soon caught the eye of bigger clubs and, so keen were Sporting to secure his services that they paid 10m euros (£8.6m) to make him their manager in March 2020.

That was the third-highest transfer fee for a manager. Amorim’s contract with Sporting runs until June 2026.

 

Roberto de Zerbi

The Italian is now at Marseille – who sit in third position in France’s Ligue 1 – following a successful spell at Brighton.

He was linked with the vacancies at Liverpool and Bayern Munich earlier this year as a result of the attractive football the Seagulls played under him.

Brighton’s defensive deficiencies might have counted against him for those jobs, but there is no doubt De Zerbi produces stylish teams who play slick football.

 

Zinedine Zidane

Speaking of midfield maestros, the mercurial Zidane has been out of management since leaving Barcelona’s Clasico rivals Real Madrid in 2021.

He was previously approached by United when Solskjaer left in 2021, BBC reported at the time. Some media reports have speculated that Zidane would not manage in the Premier League as he cannot speak English.

The Frenchman is untested as a coach outside the Spanish capital, but his record there, with admittedly vast resources at his disposal, was jaw-dropping.

He led Madrid to three successive Champions League titles – a first for any coach – in his first spell, and won La Liga in his second tilt at the job. But could any club carrying a torch for the 52-year-old tempt him back – bar his beloved Real?

A long shot, but there is no doubt a return to management for Zidane would excite the Old Trafford faithful.

 

Edin Terzic

Edin Terzic led Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final last season but then departed in June after asking the club to leave.

Terzic began his coaching career with Dortmund’s academy between 2010 and 2013 before becoming Slaven Bilic’s assistant at Turkish club Besiktas.

He followed Bilic to West Ham United in 2015 but left the Premier League club following the Croatian’s sacking in November 2017 and re-joined Dortmund as Lucien Favre’s assistant the following year.

Following Favre’s dismissal in December 2020, Terzic was named interim boss until the end of that season and led the club to the German Cup with a victory in the final against RB Leipzig.

He then had a stint as the club’s technical director before becoming their manager in 2022.

 

Who else might be in the frame?

There are plenty of other names being mentioned as possible options for Manchester United.

Massimiliano Allegri is currently out of work but has enjoyed success at the likes of Juventus and AC Milan.

Middlesbrough boss and former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick is another name being mentioned, along with former Porto boss Sergio Conceicao and Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann.

Gareth Southgate has long been linked with becoming Man Utd manager one day but seemed to rule himself out of the running when he said he will not return to a coaching role for at least a year after leaving England.

Credit: bbc.com