Man Utd keen on “genius” Ten Hag upgrade who’d revive Bruno

A lot has been fabricated from Manchester United’s new boardroom setup below the INEOS regime, nevertheless it’s honest to say that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co have merely kicked the can down the street with regard to Erik ten Hag’s place.

Main as much as Might’s FA Cup last, the Dutchman was a lifeless man strolling, however having overseen a shock Wembley triumph, the powers that be determined – ultimately – to again their man. (Properly, they prolonged his contract by a yr, a minimum of.)

Whether or not they had been swayed by fan sentiment or the euphoria of the cup win, the brand new hierarchy opted for a U-turn on their Ten Hag stance, seemingly overlooking a season of turmoil that had left the membership languishing in eighth within the Premier League desk.

A ruthless outfit would’ve sacked the 54-year-old no matter whether or not or not he had bettered Pep Guardiola’s aspect, with INEOS now left in a situation the place a change within the dugout might should be made mid-season – costing the membership a reported £17.5m if they’re to half methods with the previous Ajax boss.

For a lot of among the many United devoted, the hope was that Ten Hag might lastly be the person to shake off the spectre of Sir Alex Ferguson, and whereas two trophies have been acquired, the present marketing campaign is already gearing up for catastrophe.

Again-to-back 3-0 league defeats at Outdated Trafford to rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur has introduced with it a palpable sense of Deja Vu, echoing the final days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and David Moyes – the pair each having been humbled at house to the Anfield aspect and Manchester Metropolis earlier than dealing with the axe.

Ten Hag now heads right into a pivotal week with away journeys to Porto and Aston Villa to seemingly save his job, though with the October worldwide break to comply with, a brand new face might effectively be taking cost later this month…

Man Utd’s supervisor search

Recent from main England to the European Championship last, Gareth Southgate – who labored below Dan Ashworth on the FA for a time – has lengthy been touted as Ten Hag’s successor, with experiences lately indicating that the ex-Three Lions boss is keen to attend to switch the Dutchman on the Theatre of Desires.

In line with the Each day Star, nonetheless, Southgate is not the one candidate that the Pink Devils are believed to be contemplating, with Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi deemed to be a ‘severe contender’ for the function.

The report means that whereas Ratcliffe is ‘reluctant’ to sack Ten Hag only a matter of months after extending his contract, there’s a feeling {that a} change might must be made, with Inzaghi amongst these to have ‘impressed’ the membership’s new hierarchy.

As per the piece, the 48-year-old – who led Inter to the Champions League last in 2023 – solely signed a brand new deal earlier this yr, with it but to be seen whether or not he can be keen to tackle the poisoned chalice that’s being United’s important man within the dugout.

Why Inzaghi can be appointment

Whereas United have toiled below Ten Hag’s watch, Inzaghi has been instrumental in steering Inter again to the highest of the European and home scene, having seen his aspect solely narrowly crushed in Europe’s showpiece final yr.

Had it not been for Rodri’s late strike – and a handful of Romelu Lukaku missed probabilities – the Nerazzurri might effectively have curtailed Man Metropolis’s treble cost, showcasing simply why the United goal has been lauded as a “genius” by Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry.

Whereas the in-demand coach did miss out on that event, he’s actually no ‘almost man’ relating to profitable silverware, having claimed 5 Italian Tremendous Cups and three Coppa Italia’s, in addition to final season’s Serie A title.

In 165 video games in control of the Milan giants, the previous Italy worldwide has achieved a stellar factors per recreation common of two.13, with Ten Hag, in the meantime averaging simply 1.87 from his 123 video games in control of United. An improve, certainly.

What additionally units Inzaghi other than the person he might probably exchange is his clear identification, with Ten Hag – who Rene Meulensteen claimed has “no enjoying model” – seemingly the other.

The Inter boss notably utilises his most popular 3-5-2 formation at San Siro, with that tactical set-up probably set to assist revive a sure Bruno Fernandes if deployed at Outdated Trafford.

How Inzaghi might revive Bruno Fernandes

At his present aspect, Inzaghi has labored wonders by overseeing the transformation of Turkish playmaker, Hakan Calhanoglu, with the previous AC Milan star having been efficiently transformed from a quantity ten right into a deep-lying midfield asset.

Hailed as arguably “the most effective midfielder on this planet” by nationwide crew boss Vincenzo Montella, the one-time Bayer Leverkusen star – who, like Fernandes, is now 30 – was instrumental in his aspect’s title success final season, scoring 13 targets and offering three assists in Serie A, whereas additionally having fun with a 92% move accuracy and registering 2.9 tackles per recreation, as per Sofascore.

In his last season at Milan in 2020/21, in contrast, the skilled asset registered simply 13 targets and assists, whereas recording an 87% move accuracy and profitable simply 1.3 tackles and interceptions per recreation, indicating the enhancements which have been made below Inzaghi’s watch.

The hope can be that comparable might happen if the Italian is to take cost of Fernandes this season, with the Portuguese maestro having began the brand new marketing campaign in depressing trend, chalking up only one aim involvement within the league, whereas additionally – harshly it should be mentioned – seeing purple towards Spurs final outing.

The United skipper was notably underpar within the draw away at Crystal Palace after shedding the ball on 34 events, with Ten Hag seemingly not getting the most effective out of his talisman at current.

Whereas the artistic genius has dazzled in a quantity ten function for the Pink Devils so far – chalking up 149 targets and assists in all competitions – he has beforehand outlined his want to drop right into a deeper quantity six berth within the latter phases of his profession, thus making certain he might mirror Calhanoglu’s revival within the close to future.

Fernandes factors to the 2-0 win towards Everton again in April 2023 as one of many most interesting of his profession, a recreation that, apparently, noticed him deployed as a quantity six, quite than off the striker:

“The truth is, towards Everton, I performed no.6 and I nonetheless suppose it was one of the crucial full video games I’ve performed, in any respect ranges. By way of passing, recreation organisation, defence, ways. I’ve a little bit thought in my head that I will finish my profession additional again, as a result of everybody who began there and went to no.10 ended up retreating on the sector on the finish.”

Maybe a change in supervisor might be simply what is required for the £300k-per-week star to get again to his finest and even to succeed in a brand new stage, with Inzaghi – and his 3-5-2 set-up – probably the proper resolution for this struggling United aspect and its skipper.