A lot has been fabricated from Manchester United‘s new boardroom setup below the INEOS regime, however it’s truthful to say that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co have merely kicked the can down the highway with regard to Erik ten Hag‘s place.
Main as much as Could’s FA Cup ultimate, the Dutchman was a dead man walking, however having overseen a shock Wembley triumph, the powers that be determined – ultimately – to again their man. (Properly, they extended his contract by a year, at the least.)
Whether or not they have 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 facet, with INEOS now left in a state of affairs the place a change within the dugout could must be made mid-season – costing the club a reported £17.5m if they’re to half methods with the previous Ajax boss.
For a lot of among the many United trustworthy, the hope was that Ten Hag may 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Again-to-back 3-0 league defeats at Outdated Trafford to rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur has introduced with it a palpable sense of Deja Vu, echoing the final days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and David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 facet 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 observe, a brand new face may nicely be taking cost later this month…
Man Utd’s supervisor search
Contemporary from main England to the European Championship ultimate, Gareth Southgate – who labored below Dan Ashworth on the FA for a time – has lengthy been touted as Ten Hag’s successor, with stories just lately indicating that the ex-Three Lions boss is willing to wait to switch the Dutchman on the Theatre of Goals.
In accordance with the Day by day Star, nevertheless, 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 ‘serious 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 could have to 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 ultimate in 2023 – solely signed a brand new deal earlier this 12 months, with it but to be seen whether or not he can be prepared to tackle the poisoned chalice that’s being United’s important man within the dugout.
Why Inzaghi can be a great 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 facet solely narrowly overwhelmed in Europe’s showpiece final 12 months.
Had it not been for Rodri’s late strike – and a handful of Romelu Lukaku missed possibilities – the Nerazzurri may nicely 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 definitely no ‘almost man’ with regards to successful silverware, having claimed five Italian Super Cups and three Coppa Italia’s, in addition to final season’s Serie A title.
In 165 video games accountable for the Milan giants, the previous Italy worldwide has achieved a stellar points per game average of 2.13, with Ten Hag, in the meantime averaging simply 1.87 from his 123 games accountable for United. An improve, certainly.
What additionally units Inzaghi aside from the person he may probably substitute is his clear identification, with Ten Hag – who Rene Meulensteen claimed has “no playing style” – seemingly the alternative.
The Inter boss notably utilises his preferred 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.
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How Inzaghi may revive Bruno Fernandes
At his present facet, 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 best midfielder in the world” by nationwide group boss Vincenzo Montella, the one-time Bayer Leverkusen star – who, like Fernandes, is now 30 – was instrumental in his facet’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 ultimate season at Milan in 2020/21, in contrast, the skilled asset registered simply 13 targets and assists, whereas recording an 87% move accuracy and successful simply 1.3 tackles and interceptions per recreation, indicating the enhancements which were made below Inzaghi’s watch.
The hope can be that related may 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 vogue, chalking up simply one goal involvement within the league, whereas additionally – harshly it should be mentioned – seeing crimson towards Spurs final outing.
The United skipper was notably underpar within the draw away at Crystal Palace after losing the ball on 34 occasions, with Ten Hag seemingly not getting the very best out of his talisman at current.
Whereas the inventive genius has dazzled in a quantity ten function for the Pink Devils to this point – chalking up 149 goals and assists in all competitions – he has beforehand outlined his desire to drop right into a deeper quantity six berth within the latter phases of his profession, thus guaranteeing he may mirror Calhanoglu’s revival within the close to future.
|
Bruno Fernandes – 23/24 vs 24/25 PL stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Metric (*per recreation) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|
Video games (begins) |
35 (35) |
6 (6) |
|
Targets |
10 |
0 |
|
Assists |
8 |
1 |
|
‘Large possibilities’ created |
21 |
2 |
|
Key passes* |
3.3 |
1.0 |
|
Go accuracy* |
79% |
80% |
|
Tackles* |
1.9 |
2.5 |
|
Interceptions* |
0.8 |
0.5 |
|
Dribbled previous* |
1.7 |
1.2 |
|
Whole duels gained* |
43% |
52% |
|
Possession misplaced* |
19.9x |
16.8x |
Fernandes factors to the 2-0 win towards Everton again in April 2023 as one of many best of his profession, a recreation that, curiously, noticed him deployed as a quantity six, relatively than off the striker:
“In truth, towards Everton, I performed no.6 and I nonetheless assume it was one of the vital full video games I’ve performed, in any respect ranges. By way of passing, recreation organisation, defence, ways. I’ve somewhat 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 sphere on the finish.”
Maybe a change in supervisor may very well be simply what is required for the £300k-per-week star to get again to his finest and even to achieve a brand new degree, with Inzaghi – and his 3-5-2 set-up – probably the proper resolution for this struggling United facet and its skipper.
