Man Utd: The two ‘current frontrunners’ to replace Ten Hag revealed amid second chance suggestion
Graham Potter and Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi are the two ‘current frontrunners’ to replace Erik ten Hag at Man Utd in the summer, according to reports.
Ten Hag had a positive first campaign at Old Trafford with the Dutchman guiding the Red Devils to League Cup glory, an FA Cup final and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Will Man Utd appoint a new manager in the summer?
However, it’s not gone to plan this season as Man Utd finished bottom of their Champions League group and exited Europe, while their inconsistency has seen them drop to seventh in the Premier League.
Widespread reports indicate that new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS will judge Ten Hag at the end of the season but things are not looking good for the Dutchman.
Ratcliffe is reportedly impressed by Ten Hag’s work with bringing youth players into the team with Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho becoming regulars in the starting XI this term.
But it’s hard to ignore their terrible performances and poor results this term with Man Utd facing more shots per 90 minutes than any other side in the Premier League.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag will pay with Man Utd job as chumps repeatedly fail to get the message
And transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that INEOS and Ten Hag are currently “having positive conversations” about the Premier League club’s long-term future.
Romano told GiveMeSport: “Basically, it’s about being patient and seeing what INEOS will decide at the end of the season.
“At the moment, what Erik ten Hag is saying in public is the reality. So they’re having conversations, they’re having positive conversations about the present and future, and discussing the long-term project of Manchester United also, for the summer transfer window.
“But at the same time, INEOS like all owners in the world, want to see results on the pitch, and want to see good performances on the pitch.”
After reports yesterday that Bologna boss Thiago Motta is the ‘preferred name’ on the Red Devils’ list of manager targets, Manchester World insist that Brighton’s De Zerbi and former Chelsea boss Potter are ‘the current frontrunners for the job’.
The report claims:
‘If indeed United reach the decision that they do want to appoint a new first-team manager then they could well be too late to get their top target for the role. Not exactly in keeping with their best in class approach. Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi are understood to be the current frontrunners for the job, should it become available.
‘It is understood Ineos also admire Julian Nagelsmann but he looks poised to return to Bayern Munich following the conclusion of the European Championship campaign with Germany.’
Steve Bruce: I hope Man Utd stick with Erik ten Hag
But former Man Utd centre-back Steve Bruce reckons Ten Hag will be given a second chance next season with a new recruitment structure more important than replacing the manager.
Bruce told talkSPORT: “It certainly sounds, by his interview, that they have (a plan for Ten Hag to stay). There is certainly a plan in place above him. They have put in structures above him.
“I know people are on gardening leave but I am sure, by the summer, it will be resolved. Dan Ashworth, the new CEO (Omar Berrada), the kid from Southampton (Jason Wilcox).
“It looks as if there is a plan in place. Certainly, by the sounds of Ten Hag, he feels like he’s part of it and I genuinely hope he is given a chance under the new ownership.
“The big thing I think, for all Man United fans, is recruitment and how they improve that. There’s no doubt that they have spent a hell of a lot of money.
“However, have they got it right with the type of player you have to be to play for Man United? Man United sets the highest standards. You’re under intense scrutiny and, by the way, so is the manager.
“Everybody is judged on results. It will be interesting to see, going forward.
“Ten Hag, I hope they will go with him and put the people in place above him to drive the club forward. But they’ve got a hell of a work ahead of them.”
Man Utd: Barcelona ‘receive call’ from Ratcliffe as Red Devils try to ‘get rid of’ £124m quartet
Man Utd are trying to offload as many as four players on La Liga giants Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils had a good first season under Erik ten Hag with the Dutchman leading his side to an FA Cup final, League Cup silverware and a top-four finish.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking to offload four players
However, things have not gone to plan this season with Man Utd exiting Europe by finishing bottom of their Champions League group, while inconsistency in the Premier League has left them in seventh position.
Their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday saw Man Utd drop below Newcastle with the Red Devils now 13 points off fourth-placed Aston Villa with six matches remaining.
Many of the signings which Ten Hag wanted to sign have turned out to be flops with Spanish publication Nacional insisting that Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now trying his hardest to offload some before the summer.
The report adds that Barcelona ‘have been offered’ four players after they ‘received the call’ from Ratcliffe with Deco given ‘the opportunity to sign all of them’ for a ‘reasonable price’.
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Christian Eriksen, Raphael Varane, Casemiro and Tyrell Malacia – who signed for a combined £124m – are the four players Ratcliffe is trying to ‘get rid of’ and make room on their wage bill.
The report continues by insisting that ‘it seems difficult for Deco and [Joan] Laporta to try to sign any of them’ especially Casemiro or Varane, who have a successful past at arch-rivals Real Madrid.
TO THE COMMENTS! Which players should be at the top of United’s sale list? Join the debate here
Jamie Redknapp: Casemiro ‘looks like he’s in Soccer Aid’
Casemiro in particular has been disappointing with former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp insisting that he has looked “like he’s in Soccer Aid” this season.
“I’ve watched him for years and he’s been one of my favourite defensive midfielders in world football, I’ve loved watching him play,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
“But right now, I watch him, it looks like he’s in Soccer Aid. It looks like he’s playing at such a pace where the game is a bit of fun and there’s celebrities coming on the pitch. No, this is the Premier League.
“You’ve got so much experience and that isn’t really a case of anything else apart from running. I think to myself, [Manchester City midfielder] Rodri, what would Rodri do in that situation? He’d have been flying out there to help his team-mates and that’s what you should be doing. I don’t know why.
“This is my point with Kobbie Mainoo. He’s got everything, got the world at his feet, but you need great role models to get to the top, you need people you are gonna look up to and aspire to be like.
“At the moment, he’s not setting the right examples to the young players around him. I’m a massive fan, but that isn’t good enough. If he’d have sprinted, he would’ve stopped that.”
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More: Manchester United | Erik ten Hag’s future
Jordi Alba is Neville to Lionel Messi’s Beckham but he is still bloody brilliant
It’s extremely difficult to become overshadowed within your own team when you’re one of the most decorated footballers of all time in your chosen position, a star recent arrival in a new, burgeoning league and still one of the most impactful players in the country in which you play. It’s probably only possible if you play alongside, say, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
By every measure, Jordi Alba is one of the biggest stars in MLS. He has won the Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup and six La Liga titles. He played for Spain 93 times and won a European Championship. He played 459 times for Barcelona and was a key component in one of the most glory-filled eras of the club’s (and any club’s) history. And he arrived last year at Inter Miami, the most star-obsessed club in MLS, as a marquee free-agent signing.
But he joined Miami along with an old pal who just happens to be the greatest footballer of all time. Then, ahead of the 2025 season, another former acquaintance showed up. This guy’s resume is not quite as impressive as the first fella’s; no one would argue his case to be called the GOAT. He’s merely one of the finest strikers the world has seen in the last 20 years.
READ: Lionel Messi magic in Mahomes’ home makes MLS winner a no-brainerRelated video: Guess who's back? Messi returns to Inter Miami training after hamstring injury (SNTV)So Alba, a standalone superstar anywhere else in MLS, toils in the shadows of his two iconic team-mates. And, to a slightly lesser extent, that of Sergio Busquets, who’s easily the best of his generation in his position. But just as Jamie Carragher once pointed out that “no one wants to grow up and be a Gary Neville”, the same is true of Alba and Busquets when their replica jerseys sit beside those of Messi and Suarez in the club shop.
Yet Alba’s importance to Inter Miami cannot be overlooked. For one thing, he is among the most durable star veterans in the league. He has featured in all nine of Inter’s MLS games so far this season. The 653 minutes the 35-year-old full-back has logged is the second-highest total among the outfield players in the Miami squad. Suarez, by comparison, has played 536 minutes and Messi, who has only recently recovered from a hamstring injury, has played just 405 minutes.
And Alba is as vital to how Tata Martino’s side plays as any of the team’s other headline imports. Heading into last weekend’s round of fixtures, only LA Galaxy’s Riqui Puig (hang on, is there anyone in MLS who hasn’t played for Barcelona?) had accumulated more total touches of the ball for the season so far.
Further evidence of how deeply involved Alba is in Miami’s play is found in the fact he averages 70.2 passes per 90 minutes – a figure topped only by Busquets and centre-backs centre-back Serhii Kryvstov among Inter players to have clocked more than 400 minutes of MLS game time. It is expected that a team’s deepest central midfielder and its centre-backs see most of the ball – less so a full-back. Alba averages a full 15 passes per 90 minutes more than Messi.
Alba is all things to Inter – a playmaker in midfield, a rapid, overlapping winger in attack and often the indefatigable last line of defence when called upon to intervene at the other end.
The former Valencia man only has one MLS assist to his name so far this season, but that statistic is deceptive – he averages the same number of chances created per 90 (1.4) as German winger Julian Gressel who, alongside Suarez (1.5 chances created per 90), leads the team in the assists column with three.
According to FBref.com, since he arrived in MLS Alba ranks in the 93rd percentile for expected assisted goals per 90 minutes among full-backs playing outside Europe’s five biggest leagues. He is in the 99th percentile for passes per 90 and his availably as an attacking outlet is evidenced by the fact he ranks in the 99th percentile for progressive passes received and the 91st percentile for touches in the opposition’s penalty area.
“I don’t get tired of winning,” Alba told CBS Sports ahead of the 2024 MLS season. “I want to keep winning, to keep competing. If I didn’t have that excitement I wouldn’t have come here. I would have stayed in Barcelona, at home, not playing football. The opportunity was very attractive. I also wanted to get back with Leo [Messi] and Busi [Sergio Busquets] and now Luis [Suarez] has also come. So these were the incentives that led me to make that decision.”
To think of the composition of Inter Miami’s squad as an orchestra, Messi and Suarez are the soloists – the virtuoso headline acts who put butts in seats and dazzle with flitting brilliance. Busquets is the metronome, ticking away and keeping the tempo.
Alba is the conductor. He ties together every section of the team, knows what to do and where to be at every juncture and augments those around him with his expertise and endeavour.
The point is: Alba is still really, really good. And whether Inter Miami are able to reach their lofty goals for MLS success this season will depend as much on him as any of his old Barcelona bandmates.
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Next Liverpool manager: Five left-field options to replace Klopp including divisive former Man Utd boss
Liverpool are on the hunt for a new manager and finding an adequate replacement for Jurgen Klopp was never going to be an easy task.
The German coach has guided the Merseyside giants to eight major trophies since joining the club in 2015 and they could still lift another Premier League title this season.
Liverpool initially made Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso their top target to replace Klopp. They offered the Spaniard a contract but were unable to lure him away from the Bundesliga club, who have just lifted the first-ever league title.
Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that the Reds have now offered a three-year deal to their second-choice option Ruben Amorim, who has enjoyed great success with Sporting CP.
The 39-year-old has claimed that this is not the case, however, prompting fears that Liverpool could miss out on him.
Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes and CEO of football Michael Edwards still have their eye on several alternatives and in this feature, we list five left-field managerial candidates he could turn to.
Niko Kovac
David Ornstein claimed on Tuesday that while Amorim has been heavily linked with a switch to Anfield, he is “not necessarily Liverpool’s first-choice option.”
In the wake of that report, a new name has emerged in the Red’s manager hunt – Niko Kovac.
An agent representing Kovac has allegedly been in England this week to make it clear that he would be open to joining a top Premier League side.
As things stand, the only club that definitely has an upcoming vacancy is Liverpool. Edwards is reportedly a fan of the coach anyway and he has now been ‘identified as a leading candidate to replace Klopp.’
Kovac has managed Croatia, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich, Monaco and Wolfsburg and has had mixed success.
READ MORE: Transfer battle explodes into life as Liverpool, Arsenal ‘make enquiries’ to sign Bundesliga colossus
He won the DFB Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018 – the club’s first trophy since 1988 at the time – which earned him the Bayern job. There, he led the German giants to a league and cup double in 2018-19 but was ultimately unable to build on that success.
Kovac struggled with Monaco and Wolfsburg but he remains a well-respected manager by clubs across Europe and is characterised by a high pressing style – not dissimilar to Klopp at Liverpool.
Thiago Motta
Thiago Motta’s Bologna side have been fantastic this season and are on the verge of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 1964, when it was still the European Cup.
His success has not gone unnoticed and according to reports, both Liverpool and Manchester United have him on their radars.
Similar to Kovac, Motta puts a big focus on his players being aggressive without the ball and usually wants his team to go man-to-man and press high up the pitch.
Bologna have the third-best defensive record in Serie A this season which is the main reason behind their success but certainly haven’t been boring in attack, their striker Joshua Zirkzee scoring 10 goals so far – prompting interest from Arsenal and top Italian clubs.
Motta looks destined to manage a top club one day and it’ll be interesting to see whether Liverpool take a punt on him this summer.
Gary O’Neil
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil is arguably in with a shout of winning the Premier League Manager of the Season Award for the job he’s done since taking over at Wolves.
The English coach was very unlucky to be sacked as Bournemouth manager at the end of last term after guiding them away from the relegation zone.
His Wolves side sit in an impressive 11th place in the Premier League table and are already seven points better off than they had at this point last season.
They even have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe but it seems unlikely after Chelsea’s return upturn in form.
O’Neil’s success with Wolves has reportedly caught Liverpool’s eye and he is on Edwards’ shortlist to replace Klopp. Man Utd could also make a move for him should Sir Jim Ratcliffe sack Erik ten Hag.
READ MORE: Liverpool tipped for ‘horrible end’ with Klopp now ‘flat and dejected’ and his side ‘out of energy’
Marco Rose
Borussia Dortmund boss Marco Rose has been named as ‘one to watch’ in Liverpool’s manager search by multiple outlets.
The German club reigned victorious over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday to book their spot in the Champions League semi-finals.
Their win could also mean that a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga will see them qualify for the UCL next season – which is where they currently stand in the table – so it was a huge victory for two reasons.
Rose has to take a lot of credit for Dortmund’s European success this season and he has been on Liverpool’s radar for some time.
The 47-year-old was first linked with a move to Anfield back in 2021 and some members of the Red’s hierarchy still admire him, per reports.
Rose could be an option Liverpool turn to should they miss out on Amorim. He is under contract with Dortmund until 2025, though, so luring him away from the Bundesliga giants will not be easy.
Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has managed some of the world’s biggest clubs and is currently on the hunt for his next job after being sacked as Roma boss in January.
The former Chelsea, Man Utd, Tottenham and Real Madrid manager has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia and didn’t rule out that possibility in a recent interview.
Liverpool could certainly do with bringing in a proven winner like Mourinho, however, and given he’s available it’s no surprise to see him listed as an option for them by multiple outlets.
The ‘Special One’ may have spent two years with the Reds’ bitter rivals but it would be interesting to see whether he’d take up the opportunity to manage Liverpool should the opportunity present itself.
Newcastle have also been linked with a move for the experienced coach as the club’s owners consider parting ways with Eddie Howe at the end of the season.
Mourinho would certainly be the most controversial appointment on this list but it would be worth it just to see the Man Utd fans’ fume.
EXCLUSIVE: Real Madrid to rival Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal for sublime Bundesliga star with tempting clause
