As it appears increasingly improbable that the United manager will start the 2024–2025 Premier League season in the Old Trafford technical area, Manchester United has identified three possible Erik ten Hag replacements.

Ten Hag at United with the ropes

There’s a sense that Manchester United hasn’t performed well enough this season, even with a long injury list.

They finished last in their Champions League group and lost to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup round of 16. They are currently 11 points outside of the top four. They play in-form Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals, but they still have a chance to win trophies; beyond that, Manchester City, Chelsea, or Newcastle United may all be contenders.

Sunday’s crushing 3-1 loss to Manchester City, which prolonged the team’s awful trend against top half clubs since Ten Hag’s arrival, showed the enormous quality gap between the two sides, who have only lost once less than relegation rivals Everton all season.

Ten Hag’s dismal road record against teams in the Top 9 (22/23-23/24)

Brentford (L)

4-0

City of Manchester (L)

6-3

Villa Aston (L)

3-1

Arsenal (L)

3-2

Liverpool (L)

7 to 0.

Newcastle (L)

2-0

Spurs (D)

2-2

Brighton (L)

1-0

Spurs (L)

2-0

Arsenal (L)

3-1

Newcastle (L)

1-0

Liverpool (D)

0-0

Villa Aston (W)

2-1

Man City (L)

3-1

Ten Hag’s situation is precarious in large part due to his incapacity to compete with teams in their vicinity and many dubious transfers that he has approved. The latter may no longer be an issue with the arrival of Omar Berrada and the upcoming promotion of Dan Ashworth above the United manager. That hasn’t stopped Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the new owner, from looking for Ten Hag’s replacement, though.

The Brentford manager is one of the choices.

According to a report from ESPN, Thomas Frank, the manager of Brentford, is one of the candidates being considered to replace the Dutchman at Old Trafford. Due in part to injuries and suspensions, the head coach of the Bees has faced his most difficult season to date. His team is currently just six points above the drop zone and has only won one of their past five games.

But his wider record has made him a man to be taken into consideration. In addition, the Red Devils are reportedly also evaluating Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi and England manager Gareth Southgate, who is expected to resign from his role with the Three Lions following this summer’s Euro 2024 championships.

Trafford Avenue Old Entry
ESPN reports that Ratcliffe and colleagues are “determined to avoid being unprepared in a summer when Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona are already in the process of identifying and hiring a new manager,” despite the fact that it is emphasised that no decision has been made on Ten Hag.

Troy Deeney, an ex-Watford player, would have approved of any move for Frank since he thought the Brentford manager would have been a great fit to take over at Tottenham before they hired Ange Postecoglou.

Deeney summed up Frank’s qualities as an exceptional, driven, and ambitious manager in May 2023. “I know some will say that his Brentford side play a lot of route one football but when they were promoted from the Championship under the Dane they were an excellent footballing side.”

Brentford, Thomas Frank
Whether or not Ten Hag is granted a stay of execution is still up in the air, but until the Premier League season ends, there will probably be more rumours about his post.