Despite suffering two agonising stoppage-time setbacks in the past week, Erik ten Hag is not thought to be under immediate threat of being sacked as Manchester United manager, partly down to a lack of viable, interested alternatives.
New investors Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos company are understood to be planning for next season with Ten Hag still at the helm, even if several insiders insist they are not completely won over with United nine points adrift of the Champions League places with eight games of the Premier League campaign to go.
Further poor results before the end of what could be a very disappointing season may force the hand of Ratcliffe and his right-hand man, Sir Dave Brailsford. The pair have drawn up a list of possible replacements but several of the top contenders are, multiple sources said, lukewarm about the prospect of taking over at Old Trafford, given the monumental task at hand.
“Why would Gareth Southgate want to leave the England job for United given the mess they are in?” one source close to the England set-up said.
“This is potentially the best generation of talent we have ever had, a group Gareth has helped steer through the system. Why not see where that group can go?”
Another national team boss the Ineos team are understood to have placed high on their shortlist is Julian Nagelsmann, but the Germany coach is very much in the infancy of his national team project too, sources said, and is thought to be keen to guide this summer’s Euro 2024 hosts beyond the forthcoming tournament.
The former Bayern Munich manager has not signed another deal beyond this summer, however, and could be persuaded to join the Ineos revolution should Germany have a disappointing tournament on home soil.
As i reported last month, there is thought to be very little chance of Zinedine Zidane moving to England, let alone Manchester United, while Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi is reportedly Bayern’s No 1 choice to replace Thomas Tuchel. Ruben Amorim of Sporting Lisbon is understood to be the favourite among the Liverpool hierarchy to fill Jurgen Klopp’s shoes when the German steps down this summer.
That leaves the out-of-work Graham Potter and Brentford’s Thomas Frank as the two remaining candidates on Ineos’s list but little is known about whether either would be keen to replace Ten Hag.
There is no panic at Ineos, however, despite potentially competing for a new manager at the same time as Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona, where Xavi is already confirmed to be leaving this summer. The main priority for United is to instil structural change at the club, above the manager.
Negotiations are continuing with Newcastle and Southampton for Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox respectively, with the hope remaining that both directors can be in position before the new season starts in August.
Should United reach a deal with Newcastle over a compensation package for Ashworth so the former England director of elite development can cut short his gardening leave, that is when any decision on a change of manager will most likely take place. Ratcliffe and Brailsford are minded to leave such decisions to experts. Incoming chief executive Omar Berrada will also have a say.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/ZevF506
Post a Comment