Gareth Southgate, former Chelsea managers and Zinedine Zidane among candidates to replace Erik ten Hag as Man United manager
Will Erik ten Hag still be Manchester United manager next season?
It is the question that the new minority owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is reflecting on after Monday's chaotic incident. defeat 4-0 in the Crystal Palace.
With ten witches ready to survive At least until after the FA Cup final and with elite coaches in short supply, who could Ratcliffe be lining up as a potential successor to the team? dutch under fire?
Graham Potter
Potter He's turned down numerous job offers in recent weeks and months, so he's clearly saving himself for something big.
The former Chelsea boss is a leading candidate to replace Ten Hag due to his relationship with incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth from their time working successfully together at Brighton. Potter also has a key ally in Ratcliffe's right-hand man and former Team GB cycling guru Sir Dave Brailsford.
His appointment would be disappointing in the eyes of many United fans after an unfortunate spell at Chelsea, but Potter would argue that the set-up behind the scenes was too chaotic for any manager to succeed.
The big question is: Did he learn enough from that experience to command respect in a notoriously difficult locker room?
During his stay in Brighton, Also wanted by Ajax.Potter has shown his ability to blood and develop young players and implement a distinctive, progressive style of play, and would do well to ditch the 'shine' and return to being a training ground manager.
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Gareth Southgate
Yeah South Gate The decision to continue with England after the Euros is still very much open to debate and may depend on how well they do in this summer's tournament.
He is another disciple of Ashworth and is in a WhatsApp group with Brailsford along with several other high-profile coaches such as former England Rugby World Cup boss Eddie Jones, so there is substance to reports linking him with INEOS.
As Ten Hag has all too well discovered, there are few jobs in world football that are subject to as much scrutiny as United, but the way Southgate has handled himself as England manager and his relationship with the media has shown that he can handle that. pressure. something Ratcliffe has realized.
He also has a good relationship with United's English contingent, so he should be well received by the players.
However, he has not taken charge of a club since being sacked by Middlesbrough in 2009, so there are concerns he is better suited to international management.
Meanwhile, his critics would point out that he has failed to win anything despite having so much generational talent at his disposal.
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Thomas Tuchel
talkSPORT understands that there has been initial contact between tuchel's advisors and the hierarchy united to express an interest to move to Old Trafford and could still leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season as Champions League winners.
The former Chelsea boss is desperate to return to the Premier League and feels he has unfinished business after his abrupt departure from Stamford Bridge following a row with Blues co-owner Behdad Eghbali. He has also made no secret of the fact that he would love to manage United.
However, Tuchel is not very good at managing and his aggressiveness would count against him, as would his history of changing clubs every two years, as Ratcliffe looks to build for the long term.
A positive aspect is that the German has the ego to believe he can turn United around and wouldn't be afraid to get the dressing room in shape. He is probably the most prominent contender in the eyes of most United fans and his claims would only improve if Bayern were crowned European champions.
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Hansi Flick
Another German who has expressed interest in succeeding Ten Hag is former national team coach Flick.
Flick was considered one of the best coaches in Europe after leading Bayern Munich to consecutive Bundesliga titles, a league title, a German Cup and Champions League treble, as well as the Club World Cup, but his reputation was affected after Germany's poor performance in the 2022 World Cup.
Nor did he cover himself in glory in the Amazon documentary All or Nothing that exposed Germany's failures in Qatar, leading to suggestions that he bowed to pressure.
But during his time at Bayern, Flick was known for having a distinctive high-pressing style of play, the lack of which has been one of the main criticisms of Ten Hag, influenced by Pep Guardiola and the fact that he was a serial winner should be attractive. to Ratcliffe and the United fans.
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Roberto De Zerbi
If I were writing this a year ago then From Zerbi would probably have been high in INEOS's thoughts.
The Italian had a wonderful debut season in the Premier League, building on the foundations laid by Potter to take Brighton to Europe for the first time, and his Seagulls team also produced a spectacular attacking display to beat United at Old Trafford in August .
Brighton's form in the second half of this season has been sketchy to say the least and it is also believed that De Zerbi managed to get out of contention for a possible move to Liverpool by openly questioning the Brighton board's ambitions in press conferences.
In any case, talkSPORT now understands the Italian. plans to stay at Amex Stadium for at least one more season.
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Zinedine Zidane
'Zizou' He has been unemployed for two years since he left Real Madrid after his second spell in charge.
The French legend is linked with a move to Old Trafford whenever a vacancy arises and would certainly bring the level of stardust that the Red Devils faithful were used to and has the aura to motivate underperforming players like Marcus Rashford.
By his own admission, Zidane's command of the English language is not the best and, despite the World Cup winner saying he is ready to return to work, that would count against him.
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