After an incredibly promising debut season for Erik ten Hag in charge of Manchester United, the 2023/24 campaign was far from what was expected.
United exited the Champions League as the lowest-placed team in their group and Ten Hag’s side are virtually outside the top four to qualify for next year’s competition as they sit closer to 13th in the table of the Premier League than Aston Villa in four.
Ten Hag is facing increasing scrutiny both when it comes to results and on-field performances, particularly since Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 25% stake in the club in early 2024. Currently, the United are on a run of one win in seven league games.
Speculation suggests that Ratcliffe and the new owners of INEOS could be considering a management change in the summer, but that has not yet become clear as the team is still in contention to lift the FA Cup.
The Jugo Mobile takes a look at the possible candidates to replace Ten Hag if he were to be sacked.
Who could replace Erik ten Hag as Man United manager?
Gareth Southgate
The veteran England manager is currently the overwhelming favorite to replace Ten Hag at Man United. While some fans laughed at this, his connections with Sir David Brailsford and Dan Ashworth make Southgate a real contender under new INEOS ownership.
Many have claimed the Three Lions job is the most impossible task in world football, but Southgate has overseen more than 90 matches as manager and could become the first to win the European Championship this summer in Germany.
The links and rumors intensified during the last international friendlies in March and when asked about the position, Southgate said it was disrespectful towards Ten Hag: “I think there are two things from my point of view, one is that I am the England team. Manager, I basically have one job: to try to win a European Championship. Clearly, before that, there are two important games this week.
“The second thing is that Manchester United have a manager and I think it is always completely disrespectful when there is a manager in the place. I am president of the LMA. [League Managers’ Association] so I don’t really have time for that kind of stuff.”
Thomas Tuchel
The current Bayern Munich boss will leave at the end of the summer and is reportedly considering a return to the Premier League after he was sacked by Chelsea less than two months into the Todd Boehly era.
Tuchel’s successful time in London saw him win the Champions League, Club World Cup and Super Cup.
He was then hampered by the circus Boehly brought to the capital as Chelsea began to slip to the mid-table side.
The 50-year-old moved to Munich to replace Julian Nagelsmann and inspired the Bavarians to a record 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles. While the 2023/24 campaign has not gone to plan and will see the club relieve him of his duties at the end of the season, he did take them to a Champions League semi-final after eliminating Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Graham Potter
Another man allegedly on the wanted list is Graham Potter. Potter’s role leans more toward that of head coach than manager. His track record at Brighton demonstrated his ability to develop players without relying too heavily on big-money transfers.
This aspect will particularly appeal to United, who could struggle with financial fair play rules as they are almost certain to miss out on the Champions League next season.
A possible disadvantage of having Potter as boss is that his possession-oriented style is not one that United fans are used to, as their most successful teams have been built to entertain on the counter-attack and have players bombing forward with the ball.
Zinedine Zidane
A familiar name to Man United fans in recent years is Zizou, as he seems to be the manager who is linked with a move to Old Trafford whenever a string of poor results occurs.
Zidane left his position as Real Madrid coach in May 2021 and has not held any position since. There were rumors that he was waiting for the French national team spot to open up after the 2022 World Cup, but Didier Deschamps surprised many by signing a new contract and therefore left Zidane out.
In Madrid, he took over a team that already knew how to win and be a successful team, and proceeded to make it even more ruthless. Whether the Frenchman has the managerial ability to inspire a currently toothless team like United is a question fans will be asking themselves.
Julian Nagelsmann
At the bottom of the list is Julian Nagelsmann. He was once dubbed “better than Guardiola” and may have been the first to be mentioned for the job a few weeks ago, but he has since pledged his future to the German national team. According to Sport Bild in Germany, he will sign a contract until 2026 with Die Mannschaft.
Nagelsmann has been linked with many top jobs across Europe since his departure from Bayern Munich in 2023 and at one point looked increasingly likely to accept either the Chelsea or Spurs job. He turned down those opportunities because he wanted a “project on solid ground,” according to German media.
