Zidane and Ancelotti 'could do worse' than ten Hag at Man Utd

In partnership with

GiveMeSport

·4 November 2023

Zidane and Ancelotti 'could do worse' than ten Hag at Man Utd

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is under pressure at Old Trafford after a disastrous start to the season, and Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has provided some insight into Zinedine Zidane or Carlo Ancelotti potentially being appointed, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT.

The Red Devils are going through a tricky period and the manager is receiving plenty of criticism. However, there's an argument that multiple top coaches have come and failed at the club, so perhaps the problems run deeper. Improvements are necessary from top to bottom at Manchester United.

OneFootball Videos

Erik ten Hag could be in trouble

United currently find themselves sitting in eighth place in the Premier League table, and ten Hag's side are also struggling in other competitions. In the Champions League, United are at risk of failing to qualify for the knockout rounds after suffering two losses out of three in the group stage. The Red Devils' Carabao Cup campaign came to an abrupt end after Newcastle United got their revenge during the week after losing in the final of the same competition last season.

Ten Hag had plenty of success last campaign, winning the Carabao Cup and finishing in the top four, but it's all gone downhill since this term got underway. Per MailOnline, some of the playing squad at Old Trafford are reportedly turning on the manager. Despite that, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has recently claimed that United have denied that the club are discussing finding a replacement for ten Hag.

Zidane is a name that regularly crops up whenever United are potentially in search of a manager, whilst Ancelotti has admitted that he turned down the previously vacant position when Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Zidane is currently available whilst Ancelotti is in charge of Real Madrid, but as it stands, it appears that United are willing to give ten Hag more time. However, results will need to drastically improve or the pressure will continue to mount up.

Dharmesh Sheth update

A host of managers will be linked with taking over from ten Hag over the next few weeks, especially if the poor results continue. Of course, ten Hag is still in the hot seat, but the Manchester club will have to bite the bullet if the former Ajax manager is unable to turn things around at Old Trafford.

Sheth has suggested that there are question marks as to whether the likes of Ancelotti and Zidane could enjoy success at the club. The Sky Sports reporter adds that many managers have failed over the years, hinting that the issues are more deep-rooted. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Sheth said...

"Difficult to say. You could say yes, one of them could, or you could say all three would do worse. I think one thing we need to point out, and it's something that Gary Neville was mentioning on Super Sunday, after that Manchester Derby, when he was having that heated debate with Jamie Carragher, and an interesting point he made was, you can keep blaming the manager, but why is it at Manchester United in the near 10 years, well, over 10 years since Sir Alex Ferguson has left the club and after he retired, that none of these managers have actually worked in the long term? Is it then down to the manager, or are there other factors at play? Or is it a combination of both? And these aren't just run-of-the-mill managers, these are managers, some of them in particular, the likes of Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have been there and done it and won football's biggest prizes, and they couldn't make it work."

January transfer plans at Old Trafford

No matter what happens with ten Hag or a potential new manager, the Red Devils will undoubtedly be in the market for reinforcements when the January transfer window opens. Although the Dutch tactician takes some of the blame for United's poor performances this season, some of the players simply haven't been good enough.

With fitness issues in defence, a priority for United could be to bring in an additional centre-back. Per The Mirror, the Manchester club have drawn up a four-man shortlist to reinforce their squad at the back. Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo, Antonio Silva of Benfica, and Sporting CP youngster Goncalo Inacio are all being monitored ahead of a January move.