Erik ten Hag flew off on his summer holidays on Sunday having guided Manchester United to an unexpected FA Cup win to end a troubled season on a note of optimism.
But the Dutchman might be advised to keep his phone switched on with INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe poised to make a decision on his future at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag did everything he could to persuade United’s part-owners to keep him on for a third season with a tactical masterclass to stun Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
However, INEOS won’t judge him on just that one performance – however impressive – and that is where Ten Hag is in serious trouble.
It’s been a dreadful campaign for United, who finished a lowly eighth in the Premier League – their worst performance since 1990 – and missed out on Europe until Saturday’s win.
Erik ten Hag delivered Manchester United the FA Cup – but it might not be enough to save him
United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe now faces a difficult decision over the club’s manager
There was a handshake between Ten Hag and Ratcliffe after United’s victory in the Cup final
They also failed miserably in the Champions League, bombing out of Europe before Christmas, and in their defence of the Carabao Cup won in Ten Hag’s first season.
The FA Cup offered some salvation but it’s already public knowledge that INEOS have held talks with four potential replacements for Ten Hag as they audit the season.
Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank, Roberto De Zerbi and Kieran McKenna are the names in contention and each candidate brings different qualities and pedigree.
Mail Sport runs the rule over the advantages and disadvantages of the quartet.
Thomas Tuchel
The case FOR
INEOS are big on things like ‘best in class’ and ‘impressive pedigree’ when it comes to key personnel and Tuchel would certainly tick a lot of boxes as they strive to elevate United back to the elite.
The German has coached leading clubs Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, achieving some noteworthy success.
He guided Chelsea to an unexpected Champions League triumph in 2021 a year after taking Paris Saint-Germain to the final, and has won league titles in France and Germany.
Thomas Tuchel is available after leaving Bayern Munich and has a proven track record
The German guided Chelsea to an unexpected Champions League triumph back in 2021
United won’t be in the Champions League next season but with Tuchel at the helm there would be the feeling they’d soon be back.
His CV gives him gravitas because it’s a proven track-record of creating winning teams at the highest level of European football.
Tuchel is known for his tactical versatility and likes to innovate, which would keep United’s players on their toes. But good luck to those who don’t carry out his instructions – they’d certainly hear about it.
He would instil discipline – as Ten Hag has sought to do – and would have little patience with those who step out of line and cause issues. Sometimes he can overstep the mark, however, as we’ll come to.
He seems to be the ultimate ‘you didn’t realise what you had until it’s gone’ figure.
PSG haven’t reached another Champions League final since he left, Chelsea have certainly regressed since Todd Boehly dumped him and there were reports Bayern tried to get him to stay after getting rid.
Tuchel’s vision to take Chelsea forward didn’t align with that of the club’s new ownership
The case AGAINST
Bayern’s performance this season, as they were blown away by Bayer Leverkusen domestically and chucked away a Champions League final as they lost to Real Madrid, was a blot on the copybook.
When things unravel with Tuchel, it tends to happen quickly and often explosively, with a great deal of friction between him and his bosses – and the players.
He is a man who needs to get his way, including on transfers, and his vision would need to be perfectly aligned with that of Ratcliffe from the outset.
At PSG, he clashed with sporting director Leonardo over recruitment and claimed he ‘felt more like a politician than a coach’ at the Parc des Princes.
Boehly arrived at Chelsea and splashed tens of millions but you wonder how much say Tuchel actually had. It quickly emerged he disagreed with the club’s direction in the market and the writing was on the wall.
Tuchel can be abrasive if things don’t go his way, which causes issues with players and owners
His pragmatic approach at Bayern grated with many of the players but he claimed he was forced into conservative tactics because the hierarchy didn’t sign his transfer targets.
With INEOS assembling a new structure to guide recruitment at United, the potential for friction with Tuchel would be ever-present if he didn’t get his way.
Mauricio Pochettino
The case FOR
Mauricio Pochettino is a great believer in the ‘energy of the universe’ and maybe the stars are aligning for him to become Manchester United manager at last.
The Argentine has been considered for the job several times in the past, most recently in 2022 when he was overlooked for Ten Hag.
Now, following his departure from Chelsea after just one season, he may be able to become ringmaster at another circus straight away.
The heartfelt reactions of some Chelsea players to Pochettino’s departure gives a measure of the man – he is an easy guy to like and loves nothing more than working with footballers to improve their game.
At United, he wouldn’t want to stray into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer-style chumminess but after the abrasion of Ten Hag, Pochettino would be like a soothing balm for the dressing room.
Mauricio Pochettino walked away from Chelsea last week and could finally get the United job
Whether that gets results is another matter entirely, but Pochettino did ultimately emerge from the chaos at Chelsea with his reputation intact. It was a tough situation.
After a couple of near-misses at Tottenham, he did gets some trophies on his CV at PSG, although that could be football’s equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel.
The Argentine’s man management skills are well-known and admired
There’s no doubt Pochettino’s charisma could be a much-needed galvanising factor at Old Trafford as they embark on the INEOS era and you sense he’d slot in well with Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox.
He is devoted to playing attractive and attacking football – ticking another box – and his record of bringing through young talents will play well with the United faithful.
The case AGAINST
The main reservation about Pochettino is that he doesn’t have the same proven track record of winning trophies as Tuchel.
He may have guided Tottenham to a Champions League final in 2019 but they were well-beaten by Liverpool.
His Chelsea team should have beaten Liverpool in this season’s Carabao Cup final but ended up losing. Can Pochettino get his teams over the line when it matters?
A lot also depends on whether Ratcliffe demands success straight away or is willing to give the next manager time to build United up again.
Pochettino would likely need three to four years to get a United team in his image fully firing – would the ownership or the fanbase have that patience?
Pochettino took Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final – but they lost to Liverpool
As Ten Hag has found out, all United manager are expected to build for the long-term and show progress, while winning enough games in the here and now.
But if that is a genuine concern, then it comes back to the fundamental question of why dispense with Ten Hag two years into his project to rip it up and start again?
Thomas Frank
The case FOR
United have witnessed first-hand just how effective Thomas Frank’s Brentford are.
Last season, they were thrashed 4-0 in west London in Ten Hag’s second game in charge and this season they needed two stoppage time goals from Scott McTominay to beat the Bees at Old Trafford.
In the return game at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford came back to steal a point even though Mason Mount scored in the 96th minute.
Danish coach Frank is rightly respected for the outstanding job he’s done at Brentford, guiding them into the Premier League and then keeping them there for three seasons.
Brentford play tactically shrewd football and have bloodied the noses of the Premier League’s big boys on countless occasions.
They may have a modest budget by Premier League standards but Frank, like everyone at Brentford, knows how to work smartly.
Thomas Frank has succeeded in establishing Brentford as a Premier League outfit
Everything is data-driven and that has led to some clever recruitment with Brentford widely acknowledged to be one of the best-run clubs in English football.
All this would definitely appeal to INEOS, who would be interested in any ideas for marginal gains Frank can bring.
Frank is a likeable, intelligent and eloquent guy who clearly has an excellent rapport with his players.
Also in the frame for the vacant Chelsea job, it seems only a matter of time before Frank gets his chance at a bigger Premier League club.
The case AGAINST
At 50, Frank is still a relatively young coach but he doesn’t have that ready-made experience of coaching one of the bigger clubs – unlike Tuchel and Pochettino.
He doesn’t have experience of managing the egos of a really elite dressing room and all the problems that come with that.
Frank’s Bees have stung United before, including with a 4-0 win early last season (pictured)
The harmony evident at Brentford would be trickier to replicate at Old Trafford.
As David Moyes discovered in 2013, you can have a very good record at a mid-ranking Premier League club like Everton and be well-regarded, but Manchester United are a very different beast.
Is Frank ready for the glare of the United spotlight, the brutal scrutiny of his every decision and the sheer global enormity of the club?
You just can’t know how you’d cope with all that pressure until you’re actually there.
Kieran McKenna
The case FOR
Undoubtedly the man of the moment in English football coaching. McKenna has transformed Ipswich Town from a middling League One side to a proud Premier League club again with back-to-back promotions.
Since taking charge of his first game at Portman Road in December 2021, no club in the top four tiers of English football have won more league points than Ipswich’s 237. Only Manchester City have scored more than their 222 goals.
This hasn’t gone unnoticed with McKenna linked to Chelsea, United and Brighton in recent days.
A return to United would be the romantic choice. The Northern Irishman is a lifelong Red and coached in their academy before serving on the staff for Jose Mourinho and then Solskjaer.
Kieran McKenna has guided Ipswich from League One to the Premier League in two seasons
The 38-year-old has impressed at Portman Road and has been linked to United and Chelsea
McKenna knows how things work at Old Trafford and fully grasps the expectations. Solskjaer described him as ‘the most thorough and analytical, step-by-step, process-driven coach that I’ve worked with’ and you can imagine the INEOS panel murmuring in approval.
His Ipswich side play eye-catching football and have good collectivism, meaning they finished above clubs with vastly bigger budgets to clinch automatic promotion.
In appointing a 38-year-old coach, United’s new co-owners may feel they’re tapping into a trend of younger coaches who bring fresh ideas, have no baggage and aren’t afraid to think outside the box.
The case against
The obvious argument against McKenna is his lack of top-level experience, even if he knows United inside out.
With all due respect to Ipswich, United are a world removed and the pressure could cause such an inexperienced coach to crumble very quickly.
McKenna has many years ahead of him in management and though he will have personal ambitions, he’d be well advised not to take the United job now.
Given the club is one never-ending soap opera, McKenna could very easily find himself chewed up and spat out within a few months, damaging his reputation.
McKenna was part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff at Old Trafford and knows United
There are far safer bets for gaining Premier League experience than United, that’s for sure.
ROBERTO DE ZERBI
The case for
Mail Sport revealed on Monday that former Brighton coach De Zerbi is another candidate for the United job should Ten Hag be fired.
The Italian, 44, worked wonders at Brighton after replacing Chelsea-bound Graham Potter early last season, guiding them to a sixth-place finish and European football for the first time.
United were on the receiving end as Brighton beat Ten Hag’s side both home and away in the Premier League, while they needed penalties to squeeze past the Seagulls into the FA Cup final.
De Zerbi has emerged as another potential Ten Hag replacement after leaving Brighton
This season hasn’t been as momentous with Brighton finishing 11th, but they did show their swagger in a 3-1 win at Old Trafford back in September, the kind of result that barely raises an eyebrow nowadays.
Despite this, plenty of bigger clubs have come knocking for De Zerbi’s services and United would be up against Chelsea and potentially others if they try to hire him.
De Zerbi certainly doesn’t want for passion – which can be a double-edged sword – but he has proven with Brighton he can mastermind effective and tactically clever football in the Premier League.
As Mail Sport reported on Sunday, United would have to pay compensation to Brighton but it’s only around £5million.
De Zerbi would be like an electric shock around Old Trafford but we don’t really know if he’s capable of building a long-term project or winning major silverware.
Ten Hag’s United beat De Zerbi’s Brighton 2-0 on the final day of the Premier League season
The case against
It didn’t take too much reading between the lines of De Zerbi’s Brighton exit statement to discover the true reasons for his departure.
He’d not been shy in criticising Brighton’s hierarchy over recruitment and you sense he might be on the same collision course if he came to United.
The Italian isn’t someone happy to simply leave transfers to a committee, they have to fit his tactical structure. How much power would Ratcliffe, Ashworth and Co be willing to cede?
Like Frank and McKenna, De Zerbi is also untested at the very top level of football and offers no guarantees of success, let alone the instant success everyone at United craves.
