Next Manchester United Manager: Who could Potentially Replace Erik Ten Hag?
11/10/2024 17:21:07
With Erik ten Hag’s future as Manchester United manager looking increasingly unstable after yet another disastrous result against Tottenham at Old Trafford, the big question now is, if they decide to remove Ten Hag as boss who should they appoint as their new Head Coach?
Who Could Replace Ten Hag
Below we take a look at five managers who should be in the conversation to be the next boss at Manchester United, should they decide to change.
1. Ruud Van Nistelrooy
The former United striker who hit 150 goals for the club during his playing career at Old Trafford returned to Manchester United during the summer as part of Erik Ten Hag’s new look backroom staff. The 48 year old has managerial experience from his time as Head Coach at PSV during the 2022/23 season where he led the club to the Johan Cruyff Shield and the 2022/23 KNVB Cup, before resigning with one game of that season’s Eredivisie to play, citing a lack of support from the football club.
Should the club decide to get rid of Ten Hag, replacing him with Van Nistelrooy on at least a temporary basis would appear to be the most likely option, giving the club time to either line-up their own man in due course, or for Van Nistelrooy to impress enough to be rewarded with the full time position.
2. Thomas Tuchel
The hot-headed German coach was among the frontrunners for the job during the summer when INEOS were conducting their end of season review and is believed to have even met with the United hierarchy to discuss him taking over at Old Trafford.
Instead, Ten Hag was given a reprieve by the club, but with his future looking bleak at the moment, it won’t be a surprise to see the former Mainz, Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss in the frame once again. Tuchel led Chelsea to the 2020/21 Champions League after taking over in similar circumstances to the situation at United now, and certainly has the pedigree and presence needed to be the boss at United, something Ten Hag has consistently shown to lack.
3. Ruben Amorim
One of Europe’s most highly rated coaches Sporting CP Head Coach Ruben Amorim appears destined to join a bigger club in the not too distant future. He was among those heavily linked to the Liverpool job before Arne Slot took over, and it’s easy to see why.
He is a winner, having led Sporting to two Primeira Liga’s in 2020/21 and 2023/24, and he has done it in a style that would be appealing for the bosses at Old Trafford and for the fans also. He has favoured a 3-4-3 during his time with Sporting with players like Joao Palhinha, Pedro Porro, Nuno Mendes, Matheus Nunes and Viktor Gyokeres all shining under his tutelage. Those players have all either earned big money moves from Sporting, or in Gyokeres’ case, been linked with some of Europe’s top clubs due to his form under Amorim’s management.
Whether Manchester United would be able to prise him out of Lisbon mid-season is debatable, but undoubtedly, the 39 year old is the sort of coach that United would do well to pursue should they decide for change in the dugout.
4. Graham Potter
The former Brighton coach may have failed at Chelsea but that shouldn’t necessarily be held against him when viewing him as a possible Manchester United head coach. The upheaval at Chelsea at the time in terms of the amount of players and staff that were brought to the club while Potter was in charge can’t have helped as he tried to establish himself at such a big Premier League club.
The former Swansea boss has proven himself to be a tactically flexible coach who has the ability and willingness to work with younger players and shape them into a cohesive and competitive unit, something the new structure at Old Trafford would welcome as they look to establish the club at the top table once more.
Potter’s past relationship with Manchester United Director of Football Dan Ashworth would appear from the outside to further his chances of becoming the new boss if the job becomes available, and his appearance on Monday Night Football might just prove be perfect timing for the 49 year old.
"Tuchel led Chelsea to the 2020/21 Champions League after taking over in similar circumstances to the situation at United now, and certainly has the pedigree and presence needed to be the boss at United, something Ten Hag has consistently shown to lack."
5. Simone Inzaghi
The 48-year-old is viewed as one of Europe’s best managers due to the work he has done at Inter Milan since taking charge of the Nerazzurri in 2021. Before that he had impressed at Lazio with limited resources available to him, leading the Rome club to the 2019 Coppa Italia.
Inzaghi is known to have the ability to get the best out of the players available to him, a skill that won’t go unnoticed with the underachieving squad at Old Trafford. He has built Inter into one of the best sides in the Champions League with a good mix of defensive solidity and attacking and creative flair and led the Serie A champions to the 2023 Champions League Final where the lost narrowly to Manchester City.
He has just recently signed a new contract to stay at the San Siro until 2026 but Inzaghi has without doubt proven himself to be the kind of coach United should be looking at if they decide to move on from Erik Ten Hag in the near future.
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