MANCHESTER UNITED
Who will be Next Man Utd manager?: Fabrizio Romano reveals all on Zidane links as Ashworth holds ‘secret talks’ with former Chelsea boss
Who will be Next Man Utd manager?: Fabrizio Romano reveals all on Zidane links as Ashworth holds ‘secret talks’ with former Chelsea boss
The chances of Manchester United moving to be appoint Zinedine Zidane as a potential successor to Erik ten Hag have been played down by Fabrizio Romano, amid claims incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth has his eyes on a former Chelsea boss as his top candidate.
The Dutchman’s second season at the Manchester United helm was not gone as planned with the Red Devils seemingly leaping from one crisis to another. Currently sat sixth in the Premier League and a distant 11 points from the top four, the club are in growing danger of missing out on their first objective of securing a place in next season Champions League.
Having been dumped out of the competition at the first hurdle this season, and with a number of woeful and unwelcome records to boot, pressure has been stacked up on Ten Hag, who has been unable to build on the promise shown during his first season at the helm.
Indeed, TEAMtalk exclusively revealed last week that many at Old Trafford feel Ten Hag is a dead man walking and that a number of senior players have already lost faith in him.
This has news has since been picked up by the Manchester Evening News, who admittedly have to tread more carefully around the subject, and with a number of nationals since following suit as a result.
Roy Keane admits Ten Hag is struggling to inspire Man Utd.
In the meantime, fears over the direction United are heading in have been expressed by Roy Keane, who was left underwhelmed by the team’s performance in Sunday’s Manchester derby, that ended in a 3-1 defeat to Man City at the Etihad.
“I can’t be too hard on Manchester United today as City were just brilliant,” Keane said on Sky Sports. “They showed why they’re champions. That’s 11 league losses now for United. That’s one scary stat and what City do is they find out all your shortcomings.
“When you’re out on that pitch and it’s tough, there’s no hiding place. It’s like in boxing. City wore and wore them down. United had to take Jonny [Evans] off after around 60 minutes. They had to change the back four and they were hanging on anyway.
“It still leaves that question mark over where this United team are going. In the last 25 minutes, they couldn’t get anywhere near City, who toyed with them.
“It was men vs boys in the end and they were just hanging in there. Towards the end, you’re thinking it could be four or five. There’s still question marks of this team and unfortunately of the manager.
“The problem is that this team is still all about moments. When you’ve invested all that money and the quality they have, you need a bit more than that.
“It’s more the games we’ve seen over the last few months where they’ve lacked that consistency of performance.
“United have just been digging out results but eventually that catches up with you. The bigger picture is that you need more.”
And with Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand both suggesting a decision on Ten Hag’s future has likely already been made, with the former Ajax boss to fall on his sword at the season’s end, speculation over whom might replace him in the Old Trafford hotseat has begun to gather pace.
To that end, Zidane has been strongly mentioned as a contender in recent days, with one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s next appointments at Old Trafford – INEOS director Jean-Claude Blanc – having close ties to the French icon.
As a result, it’s claimed Blanc is pushing both Ratcliffe and Ashworth to move for Zidane in the belief he can be persuaded to move to United.
However, trusted source Romano has used his Caught Offside column to provide a key update on those claims and he is adamant that no approach has been made for the 51-year-old.
“We know there will be a lot of movement of managers this summer as there will be jobs opening up at Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but it seems we’re also getting speculation about some other clubs as well,” Romano began.
“I’m aware there have been more reports about Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United, with Zinedine Zidane the latest name mentioned as a candidate for that job. I must stress, though, that I’m not aware of contacts between Zidane and Manchester United so far. Nothing is concrete on that, as of now.
“Let’s see what INEOS decide to do in general in the next months after positive initial discussions with Ten Hag, but Zidane is currently not negotiating with United.”
In the meantime, Ashworth is understood to have presented his own ideas to Ratcliffe over whom he sees as the best candidate to succeed Ten Hag in the United dug-out if the axe were to fall.
And per widespread reports, it is believed the incoming new United sporting director has strongly recommended his old colleague Graham Potter, who remains out of work since his axing at Chelsea in April of last year.
Potter may have struggled to get a tune out of Chelsea’s expensively-assembled squad, but he retains enormous respect in the game for what he did at Brighton, with his brand of football felt as strongly suited to United by Ashworth and according to reports.
Furthermore, The Sun claims Potter is ‘the favourite of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his assistant Sir David Brailsford to become Old Trafford boss if the new Red Devils part-owner fires Ten Hag’.
Potter and Ashworth ‘worked closely at Brighton and it is understood the pair got together last weekend’ in a ‘secret meeting’ to discuss the possibility of the former taking on the United hotseat.
The i, meanwhile, claims that United acknowledge they have no chance of luring Zidane to the club, who has strongly made clear in the past of his lack of interest in managing in England.
Furthermore, former Real Madrid teammate Thomas Gravesen recently claimed Zidane would only return to the dug-out for three jobs: Madrid, Marseille or the French national team.
Like The Sun, The i also believes Potter is a name that will figure strongly in any conversations about the next United manager if the axe were to fall on Ten Hag.
Potter departed Chelsea with a win percentage record of 38.71%, having won just 12 of his 31 matches in charge.
Zidane, meanwhile, has an overall record of 62.5% win record across his two spells in charge of Real Madrid.
MANCHESTER UNITED
“That particular player was the reason we sacked Erik ten Hag and I have warned Ruud van Nistelrooy to avoid using him.
“That particular player was the reason we sacked Erik ten Hag and I have warned Ruud van Nistelrooy to avoid using him, If he breached the instructions then it will be over for him also”: Sir Jim Ratchliffe warns new Man United’s manager to avoid using ONE player who was the reason Erik ten Hag was sacked
Erik ten Hag has become the fifth Man United manager to be sacked in the last decade with the new club chiefs left unimpressed with his results this calendar year.
The Dutchman won two trophies in two seasons but guided United to their lowest Premier League finish last term. He was kept on by the new board this summer following an end-of-season review.”
However, having won just three of his first nine league games this campaign, Ten Hag has been relieved of his duties after 128 games as manager. Step-in caretaker Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge while a permanent successor is sourced.
Van Nistelrooy becomes the ninth different figure – temporary or permanent – to lead the club since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. He follows Ryan Giggs, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick in being among the Scot’s former players to take charge of United.
Earlier this month, Sir Jim Ratcliffe informed Ferguson that he would be relinquishing his role of club ambassador at the end of the season. It is thought the move is part of his cost-cutting exercises at the club, having already sanctioned the redundancies of 250 staff members this year.
However, the 72-year-old – who wishes to see United build a new 100,000-seater Old Trafford – has made clear that decisions regarding the first-team manager are not within his remit.
Asked about the future of Ten Hag earlier this month, Ratcliffe deflected: “I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.”
Ratcliffe oversaw a revamp of the United boardroom this summer, with old figures ushered out and new top brass headhunted. Former Manchester City chief Omar Berrada was announced as the club’s new CEO in January while technical director Jason Wilcox was pinched from Southampton.
United had to fork out compensation to Newcastle United when acquiring sporting director Dan Ashworth, who insisted that the decision to keep Ten Hag was made before his summer arrival. United will lose around £17million in sacking compensation to Ten Hag.
Ineos sporting chief Sir Dave Brailsford and Ineos CEO Jean-Claude Blanc are also on the board while Christopher Vivell sits as director of global talent.
While clarifying his role in the managerial turnover process, Ratcliffe urged the boardroom to “to take stock and make some sensible decisions,” having “not been there a long time.”
He underscored: “Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously – that’s very clear.”
MANCHESTER UNITED
Club statement…
Club statement…
Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.
Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.
We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.
Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Ten Hag out!! Predicted Man United line up under Xavi Hernandez – as INEOS set to sack Ten Hag if He fails to deliver West Ham game tomorrow
Ten Hag out!! Predicted Man United line up under Xavi Hernandez – as INEOS set to sack Ten Hag if He fails to deliver West Ham game tomorrow
Barcelona legend Xavi has made his stance on Manchester United clear amid reports linking him as a possible replacement for Erik ten Hag as manager at Old Trafford. Ten Hag is under mounting pressure following a lackluster start to the season, with his side winning only three of their first eight Premier League matches.
This disappointing run has fueled speculation about his future, and names like former England manager Gareth Southgate, Brentford boss Thomas Frank, and Xavi have all surfaced as potential replacements.
Xavi’s thoughts on Manchester United have resurfaced from a past interview, providing some insight into his view of the club.
Speaking after Barcelona’s Europa League tie against Manchester United in 2023, the former Barca midfielder expressed respect for the Red Devils and praised Ten Hag for the progress he had made with the team. “I think Manchester is coming back, and they showed their best,” Xavi said in an interview with TNT Sport. “We need to be proud.
I think both teams are more or less in the same moment, in the same position, that we are coming back. I said to Ten Hag now, ‘Congratulations,’ because he’s doing very well and they are Manchester United.”
Xavi’s remarks reflected his belief that both Barcelona and United were in periods of rebuilding, with the potential to reestablish themselves as top contenders in Europe.
He even hinted that future meetings between the two clubs could happen in the latter stages of the Champions League. His praise for United and Ten Hag has now taken on new relevance as discussions about his potential move to the Premier League intensify.
Reports have emerged suggesting that Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada traveled to Spain for two rounds of talks with Xavi to explore the possibility of bringing him to Old Trafford.
However, it seems that Xavi, who is currently enjoying some time away from the game, is not interested in cutting his break short. According to the Spanish newspaper AS, the 44-year-old has no intention of returning to management just yet, even if it means passing up a significant opportunity with a club as prestigious as Manchester United.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag has addressed the ongoing rumors surrounding his job, expressing frustration with the media’s portrayal of his situation. Before United’s recent 2-1 win over Brentford, Ten Hag dismissed the speculation, calling it “noise” created by the press. “Noise is only coming from some of you [media], creating stories and fairytales, bringing lies,” he said.
Ten Hag emphasized that while the team is unhappy with its current position in the league, they remain calm and confident in their plan. He assured that despite the speculation, he believes success will come under his leadership.
The situation leaves Manchester United in a state of uncertainty, with Ten Hag fighting to keep his position amid a difficult run of form, while Xavi, one of the names floated as a possible successor, seems uninterested in taking over at this time. As rumors continue to swirl, both the club and its fans await further developments.
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