Manchester United officials have reportedly pinpointed a preferred successor for Erik ten Hag should they decide to part ways with him following the disappointing 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
This defeat represented a significant low point in Ten Hag’s time at the club, as Spurs clearly outperformed United at Old Trafford. The match intensified speculation about Ten Hag’s future, with names like Gareth Southgate and Ruud van Nistelrooy surfacing as possible replacements.
However, reports suggest that the United board has already identified a specific candidate to take over if Ten Hag is dismissed. Before the season began, the club’s new co-owners, INEOS, reportedly met with various high-profile managers while contemplating a change after United’s dismal eighth-place finish in the Premier League last season, their worst since the league’s inception in 1992.
A prominent figure discussed was former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel. According to a July report from *The Daily Mail*, Tuchel emerged as the leading contender should Ten Hag be let go. Although Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team initially opted to keep Ten Hag, they were impressed by Tuchel’s vision for restoring United’s standing in European football.
At that point, Tuchel was reportedly seeking a brief break from the game after a tough stint at Bayern Munich, which seemed to remove him from consideration. However, three months later, the situation may have changed, and United might revisit Tuchel as a target if they choose to terminate Ten Hag’s contract following the Spurs match.
Despite the rising speculation, Ten Hag remains confident in his position. After the defeat, he told reporters that neither he nor the club’s management is contemplating a change.
“No, I am not thinking about this. We all decided to stay united as an ownership and leadership group during the summer,” Ten Hag remarked.
“We are all aligned and working together—the ownership, the leadership group, the staff, and the players. I don’t have that concern.”
