Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly shortlisted two big-name coaches as potential successors to Erik ten Hag amid claims he has already decided to sack the Manchester United manager at the end of the season and has already offered the role to one outstanding Italian coach.
The British business is getting his feet well under his desk at Old Trafford as he bids to shape what he hopes will be a hugely-successful new era at Manchester United. Having spent a mammoth £1.4bn to buy out 27.7% of the Glazers’ shares, the billionaire – who is Britain’s second wealthiest man – is not hanging around in his attempts to restore the Red Devils back among the English and European elite.
While Ratcliffe is planning a major summer of investment at Old Trafford on upgrading the side, he first plans to get his backroom team right and he is very quickly and astutely putting plans in place to assemble the best in the business.
Having quickly removed the long-serving Richard Arnold as CEO, Ratcliffe moved to bring in Omar Berrado from neighbours Manchester City in what is seen as a shrewd swoop.
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Next up, the club want to appoint their first ever sporting director to work alongside Ratcliffe in identifying and ultimately signing the best talents in the world game to help fortify their push for silverware. By widespread accounts, that appointment will see Dan Ashworth make the move from Newcastle once a compensation package with the Magpies has been agreed upon.
Next up, Ratcliffe also wants to bring in Jean-Claude Blanc as a club director, with the current INEOS chief extremely well connected in football from his time with both PSG and Juventus.
‘Decision has been made’ on Erik ten Hag sack
However, Ratcliffe’s overhaul will not stop there and growing reports over the last week have suggested time will also be called on Ten Hag’s reign as manager.
The Dutchman has struggled to get a consistent tune out of his expensively-assembled squad this season and needs a top-four finish – and potentially FA Cup glory – to keep the wolves from his door.
However, both Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand ‘suspect’ a decision has already been made to relief Ten Hag from his duties once the current campaign is over.
Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube show: “If he runs it close [to finishing in top four], if they see an upturn in form and the environment at the training ground and can see something where ‘we can see what it looks like going into next season if we add the right pieces to it’… a lot of moving parts have to fall into place for him to stay.
“If they don’t finish the season well, they’re losing games and it looks like the dressing room isn’t a harmonious place, one thing I would say is I don’t think Jim Ratcliffe and his team are shy of making big decisions.
“It won’t be a big thing for them if they had to [sack him]. I don’t think they look at it and go ‘We’ve got to work out the media and PR’. No, no. What’s right for Man United now? We’ll do.”
With the Dutchman tipped to soon be on his way, it’s reported that the process of appointing his successor is already well underway with Ratcliffe reportedly wading his way through a number of top-class candidates.
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Man Utd ‘offer contract’ to big-name Serie A boss
According to reports, that hunt for their next manager will likely be led by Blanc, once his appointment is confirmed, and it seems the French business has two top targets in mind.
And according to Italian outlet Tuttosport, United have already made their approach for the first of these in Inter Milan coach Simone Izaghi.
The 47-year-old has earned a reputation as one of the best around having steered the Nerazzurri to the Champions League final last season, where they lost out to Manchester City.
They are, though, on course to win the Serie A title this season, dethroning reigning champions Napoli and having established a 12-point lead at the top of the table.
However, it is claimed both Ratcliffe and Blanc have already earmarked Inzaghi as their first-choice option to take on the maanger’s role next season.
They are reportedly not alone in identifying the former Lazio boss as their No 1 choice either, with both Barcelona and Liverpool also having taken a shine to Inzaghi too.
Tuttosport, though, claims that in order to beat their rivals to his signature, United have already reached out to his people to offer him a £150,000 a week deal over an initial three-year period, which works out at £23.4m over its duration.
Given that is significantly more than he earns right now, Tuttosport feels there is a strong chance that United will land on Inzaghi as their next coach.
Zinedine Zidane an option for United job
Blanc, though, is also thought to have recommended Ratcliffe moves to appoint French icon Zinedine Zidane into the role as United manager.
The legendary former Real Madrid boss has confirmed his intentions to return to football in the coming months after a three-year spell out of the game.
The three-time Champions League winning coach has also been touted as a successor to Massimiliano Allegri at Zidane’s former club Juventus.
But according to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, United will reportedly make their an approach for the 51-year-old made in the coming weeks.
Blanc knows Zidane well from his connections in the French game and believes he can lure the 51-year-old to Old Trafford.
Discussing a return to the game, Zidane said this week: “Why not? Anything can happen. Now I’m doing other things, but we’ll see – I’d certainly like to return to the bench.”
Zidane has a 62.5 win percentage record from his time as a manager, winning 200 of his 320 matches in charge.
By contrast, Inzaghi has a 66.9% win record at Inter, having collected 97 victories from his 145 games in the dugout.
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
