Chelsea is “only possible option” for Man United managerial target Roberto De Zerbi | OneFootball

Manchester United’s managerial target Roberto De Zerbi could be on his way to Chelsea.

The Red Devils have suffered a wretched season to date, where the FA Cup is the club’s only chances of salvaging something positive from the season. Lose Sunday’s semi-final against Coventry City and things will most certainly turn very ugly for Erik ten Hag.

To be frank, even an FA Cup victory may be unlikely to save him as his team sit seventh in the table with their hopes of Champions League football all but extinguished for next season.

Therefore, many names have been linked as replacements, including Gareth Southgate, Graham Potter, Thiago Motta, Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Ruben Amorim. Another name is that of De Zerbi, who has been previously labelled by some as the “favourite” to take over from Ten Hag at United.

However, journalist Rudy Galetti (via TeamTalk) has claimed that Chelsea is the “only possible option” for the Italian coach.

This would be another blow for the Red Devils as more and more top managers seem to be taken off the table as INEOS continue to kick a decision on Erik ten Hag into the long grass.

If United make it to the final of the FA Cup, as they should against Coventry City, it is almost certain Ten Hag will see out the season, regardless of how bad things get in the Premier League.

By May, the Red Devils may have already missed out on numerous top managers with other clubs in Europe also on the hunt.

With Julian Nagelsmann reportedly close to an agreement with Bayern Munich and Ruben Amorim very much on Liverpool’s radar to replace Jurgen Klopp, two highly talented and available managers seem to be heading to major rivals.

Moreover, Thiago Motta has also been linked heavily to Juventus, and with Barcelona looking to hire a new coach this summer with the departure of Xavi, United’s list of options will likely continue to shrink.

Thomas Tuchel remains a candidate but with the Catalonian club reportedly showing interest in the German, this may complicate matters.

It has been stated Tuchel would reject Barcelona for United, but the longer INEOS delay the decision, the longer they risk being left with both Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter as the only two options.

This would be deeply unpopular with fans and would get the new era at the club off to a pretty limp start in the eyes of most followers of the team.

Despite Ten Hag’s popularity decreasing with every week that passes by, if the choices are Potter and Southgate, many fans would be probably opt to just to stick with the under-fire manager.

Nonetheless, this would stink of inaction and be very worrying that, after only a few months, the new owners would be breaking promises of taking decisive action to improve the club and bring it back to the top table of European football.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.