Man Utd’s remaining five Erik ten Hag replacement options after Gareth Southgate claim

Manchester United have yet to decide on the future of manager Erik ten Hag, and former England manager Gareth Southgate has already ruled himself out of the race.

Erik ten Hag’s future as Manchester United manager remains uncertain following a seven-hour crisis meeting earlier this week.

United have had their worst Premier League start ever, and a number of prospective Ten Hag successors have been connected with the post. Gareth Southgate, the former England manager, has virtually taken himself out of the race.

Southgate has declared that he will not take another managerial position for at least a year, having left England after Euro 2024. Southgate stated at the European Club Association conference: “I will not coach in the next year, for sure.

“I am confident of that. I need to allow myself time to make sound judgments. When you go out of a significant job, you need to allow your body and mind time. I’m lucky in that there are several possibilities available. “There’s no rush.”

With Southgate out of the race, there are numerous other contenders who may take Ten Hag’s position if Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his colleagues decide to go ahead with the deal. Mirror Football has reviewed them.Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Ruud van Nistelrooy, a United great, is the most logical candidate to replace Ten Hag, at least on an interim basis.

The United icon returned to Old Trafford this summer as a member of Ten Hag’s coaching team, and he also won two trophies when managing PSV Eindhoven. If Ten Hag is fired, Van Nistelrooy is expected to take over as interim manager, giving him a chance to show himself worthy of the permanent position.

However, he has some reservations about the position, having departed PSV in acrimony last year after accusing his assistant Fred Rutten and certain top players of colluding with club officials behind his back. According to a source in Holland, “He felt betrayed at Eindhoven — and he will not want to be viewed as the man who went behind Erik ten Hag’s back.”

Thomas Tuchel

Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has also been connected with the position.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Tuchel is one of the possibilities United is examining, and his instant availability after leaving Bayern at the conclusion of last season provides him an advantage.

Tuchel met with Ratcliffe in the summer to explore replacing Ten Hag, and the INEOS CEO is reported to ‘like the notion’ of the German taking over at Old Trafford, despite worries that he has clashed with the management at Bayern, Chelsea, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, and Mainz.Simone Inzaghi

Simone Inzaghi, Inter Milan’s manager, has also been connected with the role after winning the Serie A title last season.

The Italian has impressed at Lazio and Inter, but he recently signed a contract extension and would be an especially pricey midseason addition. Corriere dello Sport, an Italian publication, also stated that United had contacted Inzaghi twice.

According to reports, a representative working for the club approached Inzaghi before the conclusion of last season and during September’s international break, but the 48-year-old was evidently unwilling to leave Inter.Graham Potter

Graham Potter has also been connected and has a close relationship with United sporting director Dan Ashworth, whom he previously worked with at Brighton.

Potter excelled throughout his tenure at the Amex, guiding Brighton from relegation to the verge of European participation. He moved to Chelsea in September 2022, but stayed for less than seven months.

When probed about his ties with United on Sky Sports Monday Night Football earlier this month, Potter said: “For the sake of everyone’s respect, I’d rather keep it private.” I do not believe anything is impossible, but jobs are challenging. This is the reality of life in the Premier League. If you’re a major club like Manchester United and you’re not in the top six, there will always be questions.”Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, meanwhile, has declared openly that he would like to return as manager if Ten Hag is fired.

“If the family [United] asks, I would say yes every day of the week,” Solskjaer stated in a Q&A session at the Oslo Business Forum last month. “It feels wrong to talk about jobs that other people have now, but I would say yes, of course.”

However, it is doubtful that United will return to Solskjaer, who spent three years in command after temporarily replacing Jose Mourinho when he was fired in 2018.