Man Utd ‘rejected by up-and-coming manager’ who followed similar path to under-fire Ten Hag
MANCHESTER UNITED were reportedly rejected by a manager who has followed a similar path to Erik ten Hag.
The Dutch coach faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford after the club’s horror start to the Premier League season.
Ten Hag, 54, is still in charge of the team despite club chiefs holding talks over his position during the international break.
Despite the former Ajax boss still being employed, it has not stopped other candidates from being linked with the post.
Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Gareth Southgate have all been talked up as potential successors.
However, it has been reported that Man United made an approach to appoint VfB Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness.
German outlet Bild have claimed that he was flattered by the interest from the Red Devils.
But it is thought that he has turned down the chance to swap Stuttgart for Manchester.
The report adds that Hoeness, 42, believes he still has work to do at the MHP Arena.
Last season, he guided his side to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich.
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Stuttgart only missed on a famous title to the invincible Bayer Leverkusen, managed by Xabi Alonso.
Hoeness has been in charge of Die Roten since 2023, when he took charge of the club in the relegation zone.
He was able to lead the strugglers to the relegation play-offs and beat Hamburg in order to maintain their Bundesliga status.
Hoesness started his managerial career at Bayern Munich II.
He landed the job just four years after it was vacated by Ten Hag who left the job for Dutch side Utrecht in 2015.
Another new name that has been linked with the top job at Old Trafford is Edin Terzic.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach is an unexpected target but had admirers at the club.
Meanwhile at Man United, club captain Bruno Fernandes has revealed he could have left in the summer.
The midfielder admitted that he had “concrete offers” to leave but stayed at Old Trafford.
Why NOBODY is the right man to replace Erik ten Hag at Man Utd
SunSport's DAVE KIDD says Erik ten Hag's time at Man Utd is up… and explains what's wrong with all the potential candidates to replace him.
THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.
And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.
If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.
The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.
He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.
None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.
Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.
Emery may well deliver the coup de grace to Ten Hag on Sunday — especially with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Kobbie Mainoo an injury doubt.
And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.
Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.
Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.
Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.
Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.
Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.
Thomas Tuchel would be a popular and gettable option but, despite being a fine coach and a very engaging man, he is considered something of a loose cannon.
Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.
Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.
Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.
Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.
Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.
So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part.