Much has been made of Manchester United’s new boardroom setup under the INEOS regime, but it’s fair to say that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co have merely kicked the can down the road with regard to Erik ten Hag’s position.
Leading up to May’s FA Cup final, the Dutchman was a dead man walking, but having overseen a shock Wembley triumph, the powers that be decided – eventually – to back their man. (Well, they extended his contract by a year, at least.)
Whether they were swayed by fan sentiment or the euphoria of the cup win, the new hierarchy opted for a U-turn on their Ten Hag stance, seemingly overlooking a season of turmoil that had left the club languishing in eighth in the Premier League table.
A ruthless outfit would’ve sacked the 54-year-old regardless of whether or not he had bettered Pep Guardiola’s side, with INEOS now left in a scenario where a change in the dugout may have to be made mid-season – costing the club a reported £17.5m if they are to part ways with the former Ajax boss.
For many among the United faithful, the hope was that Ten Hag could finally be the man to shake off the spectre of Sir Alex Ferguson, and while two trophies have been acquired, the current campaign is already gearing up for disaster.
Back-to-back 3-0 league defeats at Old Trafford to rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur has brought with it a palpable sense of Deja Vu, echoing the last days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and David Moyes – the pair both having been humbled at home to the Anfield side and Manchester City before facing the axe.
Ten Hag now heads into a pivotal week with away trips to Porto and Aston Villa to seemingly save his job, although with the October international break to follow, a new face could well be taking charge later this month…
Man Utd’s manager search
Fresh from leading England to the European Championship final, Gareth Southgate – who worked under Dan Ashworth at the FA for a time – has long been touted as Ten Hag’s successor, with reports recently indicating that the ex-Three Lions boss is willing to wait to replace the Dutchman at the Theatre of Dreams.
According to the Daily Star, however, Southgate isn’t the only candidate that the Red Devils are believed to be considering, with Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi deemed to be a ‘serious contender’ for the role.
The report suggests that while Ratcliffe is ‘reluctant’ to sack Ten Hag just a matter of months after extending his contract, there is a feeling that a change may need to be made, with Inzaghi among those to have ‘impressed’ the club’s new hierarchy.
As per the piece, the 48-year-old – who led Inter to the Champions League final in 2023 – only signed a new deal earlier this year, with it yet to be seen whether he would be willing to take on the poisoned chalice that is being United’s main man in the dugout.
Why Inzaghi would be a good appointment
While United have toiled under Ten Hag’s watch, Inzaghi has been instrumental in steering Inter back to the top of the European and domestic scene, having seen his side only narrowly beaten in Europe’s showpiece last year.
Had it not been for Rodri’s late strike – and a handful of Romelu Lukaku missed chances – the Nerazzurri could well have curtailed Man City’s treble charge, showcasing just why the United target has been lauded as a “genius” by Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry.
While the in-demand coach did miss out on that occasion, he is certainly no ‘nearly man’ when it comes to winning silverware, having claimed five Italian Super Cups and three Coppa Italia’s, as well as last season’s Serie A title.
In 165 games in charge of the Milan giants, the former Italy international has achieved a stellar points per game average of 2.13, with Ten Hag, meanwhile averaging just 1.87 from his 123 games in charge of United. An upgrade, indeed.
What also sets Inzaghi apart from the man he could potentially replace is his clear identity, with Ten Hag – who Rene Meulensteen claimed has “no playing style” – seemingly the opposite.
The Inter boss notably utilises his preferred 3-5-2 formation at San Siro, with that tactical set-up potentially set to help revive a certain Bruno Fernandes if deployed at Old Trafford.
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How Inzaghi could revive Bruno Fernandes
At his current side, Inzaghi has worked wonders by overseeing the transformation of Turkish playmaker, Hakan Calhanoglu, with the former AC Milan star having been successfully converted from a number ten into a deep-lying midfield asset.
Hailed as arguably “the best midfielder in the world” by national team boss Vincenzo Montella, the one-time Bayer Leverkusen star – who, like Fernandes, is now 30 – was instrumental in his side’s title success last season, scoring 13 goals and providing three assists in Serie A, while also enjoying a 92% pass accuracy and registering 2.9 tackles per game, as per Sofascore.
In his final season at Milan in 2020/21, by contrast, the experienced asset registered just 13 goals and assists, while recording an 87% pass accuracy and winning just 1.3 tackles and interceptions per game, indicating the improvements that have been made under Inzaghi’s watch.
The hope would be that similar could occur if the Italian is to take charge of Fernandes this season, with the Portuguese maestro having started the new campaign in miserable fashion, chalking up just one goal involvement in the league, while also – harshly it must be said – seeing red against Spurs last time out.
The United skipper was particularly underpar in the draw away at Crystal Palace after losing the ball on 34 occasions, with Ten Hag seemingly not getting the best out of his talisman at present.
While the creative genius has dazzled in a number ten role for the Red Devils to date – chalking up 149 goals and assists in all competitions – he has previously outlined his desire to drop into a deeper number six berth in the latter stages of his career, thus ensuring he could mirror Calhanoglu’s revival in the near future.
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Bruno Fernandes – 23/24 vs 24/25 PL stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Metric (*per game) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|
Games (starts) |
35 (35) |
6 (6) |
|
Goals |
10 |
0 |
|
Assists |
8 |
1 |
|
‘Big chances’ created |
21 |
2 |
|
Key passes* |
3.3 |
1.0 |
|
Pass accuracy* |
79% |
80% |
|
Tackles* |
1.9 |
2.5 |
|
Interceptions* |
0.8 |
0.5 |
|
Dribbled past* |
1.7 |
1.2 |
|
Total duels won* |
43% |
52% |
|
Possession lost* |
19.9x |
16.8x |
Fernandes points to the 2-0 win against Everton back in April 2023 as one of the finest of his career, a game that, interestingly, saw him deployed as a number six, rather than off the striker:
“In fact, against Everton, I played no.6 and I still think it was one of the most complete games I’ve played, at all levels. In terms of passing, game organisation, defence, tactics. I have a little thought in my head that I’m going to end my career further back, because everyone who started there and went to no.10 ended up retreating on the field at the end.”
Perhaps a change in manager could be just what is needed for the £300k-per-week star to get back to his best or even to reach a new level, with Inzaghi – and his 3-5-2 set-up – potentially the perfect solution for this struggling United side and its skipper.
