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Erik ten Hag's days at Manchester United may be numbered and here are three realistic candidates to potentially replace him as manager.
Manchester United are in crisis mode once again with several reports of a disjointed dressing room on top of poor results which means the manager's days are most likely numbered.
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08:18 - 05.12.2023
Report: Manchester United to SACK Ten Hag If they lose the next three games
Manchester United are reportedly planning to sack Erik ten Hag if he cannot arrest the poor run of form.
United currently sit seventh on the Premier League table with six defeats from 14 games already while also enduring a horrible spell in the UEFA Champions League.
Ten Hag has overseen a horrid UCL campaign as they currently sit bottom of Group A with just four points from five games behind Bayern Munich, Copenhagen and Galatasaray with impending elimination staring them in the face.
All of that points to the fact that the manager could be done soon and here are five potential replacements who could replace him if and when that happens.
3 managers who could replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United
These managerial candidates have been selected based on their availability and Manchester United's realistic chances of landing them mid-season, here are Ten Hag's likely replacements in no particular order.
Michael Carrick
In the event that Manchester United need a new manager mid-season, history suggests that an ex-player would be the most likely replacement and none better than Michael Carrick at the moment.
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The trend of ex-players taking over at Old Trafford started in 2014 when Ryan Giggs got appointed on interim basis in 2014 following David Moyes' firing. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Michael Carrick have also handled the team recently.
Carrick has done a great job in charge of Middlesbrough so far, guiding them to the play-off semi-finals last season and getting them playing great football.
Even after a tricky start to this campaign, Carrick has got Middlesbrough back to being one of the Championship's slickest sides with results in their favour once again.
The 42-year-old worked under both Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer during their spells at Old Trafford and also got to coach the team himself for a brief period so he is quite experienced with matters concerning Manchester United.
It wouldn't be too hard to negotiate with Middlesbrough to let go of Carrick especially since the man himself would be interested in a return to Old Trafford as the top dog.
Graham Potter
By this time last year, Manchester United would have jumped at the chance to have Graham Potter in charge as he was one of the most coveted managers in England and Europe at large.
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However, an ill-fated spell at Chelsea from September 2022 to April 2023 has significantly affected Potter's stock with the Englishman still unemployed till now.
The 48-year-old would jump at the opportunity to get another crack at a top job and prove himself at the highest level as the manager many thought he would be.
This could be a strong possibility with Sir Jim Ratcliffe set to officially come on board at Old Trafford early next week via a £1.3billion deal to purchase a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United from the Glazer family.
The British billionaire and his company INEOS' sports division also own French club OGC Nice and have tried to land Potter before, he may yet divert his interest towards Manchester.
Kieran McKenna
Kieran McKenna is little known to most football fans, especially in comparison to the other names on this list but the 37-year-old is fast becoming one of the best young coaches in Europe.
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Much like Carrick, McKenna also worked at Manchester United in Mourinho and Solksjaer's backroom staff and is now shining in the English Championship.
He masterminded Ipswich's automatic promotion from League One last season and now has the Tractor Boys taking the Championship by storm with an unprecedented promotion charge.
Ipswich are currently second in the table after 19 games, only trailing leaders LeicesterCity by a single point and the club are playing the brand of football Manchester United had hoped for when they hired Ten Hag.
Honourable mentions
While Potter, Carrick and McKenna lead the race to replace Ten Hag based on their availability, Manchester United have a few more explorable options.
Julian Nagelsmann is the current manager of the German national team but his contract only runs till after EURO 2024 in which Die Manschaft play as hosts.
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This means the 36-year-old could be available to replace Ten Hag in the summer which is why he didn't make the original list as the focus was more on coaches who could realistically come in mid-season.
Other notable names include Francesco Farioli who is doing an incredible job in charge of OGC Nice and may also be wary about leaving mid-season. The same goes for Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.
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