A “phenomenal” title-winning manager is reportedly liked by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag‘s future still looking shaky.
Ten Hag still given time at Man Utd
Ten Hag is now at the beginning of his third season as Red Devils boss, but despite winning two trophies in that time, he is still yet to fully convince the vast majority of the Red Devils’ fanbase.
An EFL Cup and FA Cup apiece is all well and good, but performances and results in the Premier League have been nowhere near good enough too often, while United failed to get past the Champions League group stage last season.
After five league matches in 2024/25 to date, the Red Devils sit 11th in the table, winning only two matches so far and losing 3-0 at home to bitter rivals Liverpool earlier in the campaign. For that reason, Ten Hag finds himself battling to save his job, even though one report has stated that Ratcliffe and others high up at the club are still willing to give him time to prove himself.
That hasn’t stopped other managers from being linked with the job, however, with former Juventus boss Max Allegri linked with taking charge at Old Trafford if the current manager is relieved of his duties soon. Now, another name has been thrown into the mix.
Man Utd like “phenomenal” title-winning manager
According to InterLive [via Sport Witness], Simone Inzaghi has emerged as a potential Ten Hag replacement at Manchester United, with the Red Devils admiring the Italian.
The report says that they “don’t have too much confidence” in their current leader, adding that “at this point his farewell to Old Trafford seems almost obvious”, with the Inter Milan manager standing out as a candidate to be his successor.
Inzaghi’s credentials are clear, with the 48-year-old doing a superb job in charge of Inter, including winning the Serie A title last season and clinching Italian Cup glory three times in his managerial career – once with Lazio.
He likes to adopt a 3-5-2 formation, which can be an awkward system to come up against because of the effective use of wing-backs, while Felipe Caicedo has waxed lyrical over him in the past, saying he is the best manager he has played under:
“Inter are an unplayable team, come on. They’re very strong and know what they want. The squad has been together for years. Inzaghi is a phenomenal coach. I’ve never had a better manager, even though I had top coaches like Eriksson and Hughes.”
For now, it does appear as though Ten Hag is safe in his job, but there is a nagging feeling that he isn’t the right man to take United forward, with one step forward often seemingly leading to two in the wrong direction.
In Inzaghi, the Red Devils have a proven winner at the peak of his powers as an option, so if Ratcliffe doesn’t see enough improvements in the coming weeks, he could consider making a move for him.
