After a dismal start to the 2024/25 English Premier League season, Erik ten Hag was finally sacked as Manchester United manager earlier today.
United have endured a horror start, with defeat against West Ham on Sunday leaving them 14th in the table after nine matches.
It’s been an even worse start in the Europa League, with United currently winless and 21st out of 36 teams in the table.
That means after nearly two-and-a-half years, ten Hag leaves his role, with Man Utd looking for their sixth permanent manager since the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.
The big question now is, who will take over as manager at Old Trafford? Below, we look at the current favourites according to the UK bookmakers. Don’t forget to stay tuned to Bet9ja for specials markets on who will become the next United boss!
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy was brought back to the club over the summer by Erik ten Hag to be his assistant but it was a curious move for the former United player, who had spent a year as PSV head coach from March 2022 until May 2023, with many expecting him to take a similar position elsewhere in Europe.
The former United striker scored 150 goals in 219 games at Old Trafford and remains a fan favourite but does he have enough managerial experience to lead the Red Devils out of their current position?
Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim has been the Sporting CP manager since 2020 and the young Portuguese coach has built an incredible reputation in that time winning two Portuguese League titles as well as two Portuguese Cups. His playing style has been lauded by many with his side’s intense pressing suffocating opponents in a Jurgen Klopp-esque manner which is why Liverpool so publicly chased him to replace the German at Anfield last season.
Amorim attempted to force the Anfield clubs hand by holding talks with West Ham about replacing David Moyes but the ploy failed and he continued at Sporting for the start of the 2024/25 season. He may not the be most well known coach on this list and the current United squad may not have the capabilities to enact his playing style but he could be a terrific appointment to the Old Trafford hot seat.
Xavi Hernandez
Xavi has been searching for his next managerial role since leaving Barcelona in the summer after a difficult spell at the club he played almost his entire career at. The former midfield maestro did manage to steady the ship somewhat at Barca by leading the club to the 2022/23 La Liga title but that appeared to just paper over the cracks during a period of financial and political turmoil at the club.
His wife helped to fuel speculation over the weekend that a move to Manchester could be on the cards as she posted an Instagram story of the World Cup winner sitting at a table holding his Man Utd jersey wearing son. He has experience managing a huge club to a league title and navigating a club with lots of internal politics so he could the perfect choice at this particular point in time.
Gareth Southgate
The former England manager appeared to suggest he wanted a year out from the game in a recent interview after stepping down following his side’s EURO 2024 Final defeat to Spain. Southgate’s issue could be winning the Stretford End faithful over as he was not a particularly popular national team coach. His style of play was lamented throughout his tenure and his club coaching career consists of three years at Middlesbrough which ended in his dismissal having seen the club relegated from the EPL in 2009.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS could potentially bring Southgate in as they would see him as a safe pair of hands but it would be an uphill battle with from the start to get the fans on board.
The Best of the Rest
Thomas Frank has been linked with all major EPL vacancies since his Brentford team first arrived in the league in 2021 but as of yet, nobody has taken a chance on him and he appears to be happy with his current role so would seem unlikely. Michael Carrick is the only other former United player on this list and he appears to be a very capable, young coach but he is still only learning his trade and it is probably too soon for the UEFA Champions League winner this time around.
Graham Potter has been out of managerial action since leaving Chelsea in 2023 and would be seen as quite the gamble by United. Being the Chelsea FC manager is a difficult task at the best of the times but his managerial stock is extremely low right now so don’t expect it to happen.
Comment below with who you think will become the next Man Utd manager!
