Next Man Utd boss: Seven contenders to replace Ten Hag in review should Ratcliffe wield the axe

Hansi Flick and Julen Lopetegui Man Utd job contenders

Amid claims Sir Jim Ratcliffe could yet decide to replace Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager this summer, we take a look at the runners and riders and what they could potentially bring to the role as a potential successor to the Dutchman at Old Trafford.

The race for top managerial talent has never been more competitive than it will likely be this summer, with Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona all already on the hunt for a new coach to take over next season.

Manchester United might yet be another club in search of a new manager come the end of the current campaign.

Improved recent results, that have seen the club go through 2024 unbeaten so far, have eased the immediate pressure on Ten Hag’s job.

But with United currently outside the Champions League-qualification positions, the club’s new minority-owner, Ratcliffe, will reportedly review the Dutchman’s position at the end of the season and decide whether a replacement is needed.

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And if Ten Hag proves not to be the man to guide United into their INEOS era, here are seven contenders to assume the Old Trafford hotseat.

Graham Potter

As far back as December last year, when United’s form was at a low ebb and as Ratcliffe and his INEOS group were accelerating their mission to take part-ownership and sporting control of the club, Potter was named as the leading candidate to replace Ten Hag if a managerial change were to be made.

The former Brighton boss is coming off a disappointing spell in charge of Chelsea in his last post. Sacked after just 31 games in charge at Stamford Bridge, the 48-year-old departed with the unwanted record of the lowest points-per-game average of any manager in the club’s history.

But the struggles of Potter’s successor, Mauricio Pochettino, and the managerial instability that preceded the former Swansea City manager act as a caveat for his underachievement in the biggest role of his career to date. Potter proved at Brighton that he is a smart tactician and a bright leader who can deliver results alongside an eye-catching, attack-minded style of play.

Ruben Amorim

Thought to be a frontrunner to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Amorim has become one of the most sought-after young coaches in Europe thanks to the success he has overseen at Sporting CP.

The 39-year-old has been in charge at the Estadio Jose Avalade for four years, in which time he has taken charge of almost 200 games and boasts a staggering average of 2.26 points per game in the Portuguese top flight.

In 2021, he led Sporting to a first league title in 19 years, one of four trophies he has won with the club. And, currently level on points with rivals Benfica at the top of the Primeira Liga table while owning a game in hand, Amorim is on course to claim a second championship this term in what could be his final season with the club.

Roberto De Zerbi

Linked with the soon-to-be vacant post at the Camp Nou, De Zerbi has impressed immensely at Brighton since taking over from Potter in September 2022.

With a dynamic, front-foot and versatile brand of football, the 44-year-old Italian has built on Potters work at the AmEx Stadium.

Despite a high player turnover that has seen several stars sold, he has already exceeded his predecessor’s achievements, taking the Seagulls to the FA Cup semi-finals last season before finishing seventh in the Premier League, earning European qualification for the first time in the club’s history.

Even in the wake of the sales of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo last summer, De Zerbi once again has Brighton seventh in the table. His ability to produce such results on a budget and through adverse circumstances makes him a hugely attractive candidate for elite clubs.

Thomas Tuchel

Like Klopp at Liverpool and Xavi at Barcelona, it has already been confirmed that Tuchel will leave his post as Bayern Munich manager at the end of the season. And while the German tactician might have fallen short of expectations at the Allianz Arena, his pedigree will mean he is a man in demand this summer.

With Bayern currently second in the Bundesliga, behind Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, Tuchel could be about to earn the inglorious distinction of overseeing the Bavarian giants’ first failure to win the title in a decade.

Yet with a Champions League winner’s medal from his time at Chelsea and titles previously won with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern, the 50-year-old has enough credit banked to bounce straight into another top job.

Unai Emery

Thought to be high on Bayern’s next-manager wishlist, Emery has transformed Aston Villa since taking charge of the Midlands club in October 2022.

The Spaniard led Villa from a relegation battle to European qualification last term, and this season they are battling among the Premier League’s established Big Six to earn a place in the Champions League.

A brief and unsuccessful spell as Arsene Wenger’s successor at Arsenal is the only major blot mark on his track record, with success previously at Valencia, Sevilla, PSG and more recently Villarreal prior to his return to England.

The four-time Europa League winner is a notoriously meticulous planner and his tactical versatility has been key to Villa’s recent success. Taking the Arsenal job immediately after Wenger’s 22-year reign might have been an impossible task for any manager. Emery has since proven he remains among the best in the business.

Hansi Flick

Reportedly keen on the Barcelona job and a contender for the Liverpool dugout, Flick is another manager of proven pedigree who is vying for a top position this summer.

The former Germany and Bayern boss has been out of work since stepping down as national team manager last year.

Flick spent the large chunk of his coaching career as No.2 to Joachim Lowe with Die Mannschaft, helping to mastermind Germany’s 2014 World Cup triumph. A former Bayern player, he led the Bavarians to a Treble of Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League in 2020.

What’s more, reports in Spain claim the 58-year-old is already smitten with one Old Trafford star. According to Nacional, Flick has identified 18-year-old United academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo as a key transfer target should he land the Barcelona job.

Julen Lopetegui

A surprise name tipped as a strong fancy for the United job, Lopetegui’s single season in charge of Wolves in the Premier League – still his most recent work – does not leap off the Spaniard’s CV as a ringing endorsement of his suitability for the Old Trafford top job. He led them to a respectable, if not remarkable, 13th-place finish.

Nor does his two-and-a-half-month spell as Real Madrid boss in 2018. He was unceremoniously let go from his post as Spain’s manager on the eve of the 2018 World Cup once it emerged he’d agreed to take charge of Los Blancos after the tournament. The hassle hardly seemed worth it when he was dumped amid poor results in October.

But past success with Sevilla, where he won a Europa League, built on the promise he’d shown as a nurturer of talent and tactical planner with Spain’s youth teams and in his first top-flight managerial role with Porto.

The 57-year-old might feel he has unfinished business as the highest level.