Manchester United make Xavi Hernandez contact as Erik ten Hag fights to keep Old Trafford job

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is safe for now but one top managerial target appears to be emerging at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag’s position as Manchester United was discussed and debated throughout the international break.

Fans and pundits were discussing Ten Hag’s future but it seems that Ineos were doing the same.

Reports suggested that Ineos were discussing Ten Hag’s future but ultimately chose to keep him in the job.

Ten Hag simply had to pick up a win in United’s first game back from the break and did so with a 2-1 home win over Brentford.

The pressure is still on Ten Hag though and he still needs results against Fenerbahce and West Ham United this week.

• READ MORE: Who are INEOS? Exploring Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s billion-pound business

Manchester United speak to Xavi

Ten Hag is not off the hook yet and United may have potential replacements in mind.

Thomas Tuchel can be ruled out after he took the England job but another name is now emerging.

The Daily Mail report that United have made contact with Xavi Hernandez twice in recent months through intermediaries.

It’s noted that Xavi does not want to coach in Spain again having left Barcelona at the end of last season.

Omar Berrada is understood to have been in Barcelona just week as part of a four-man delegation from United.

Ineos meetings are thought to have been conducted in Catalunya because Sir Jim Ratcliffe is there, but the contact with Xavi has heightened rumours of a potential deal down the line.

United are sticking by Ten Hag but it may just be that Xavi’s situation has been explored in case a change is needed.

• READ MORE: Who is Marcus Rashford? Inside the life of Man Utd’s book-writing, government-tackling ace

Xavi a fan of Marcus Rashford

A change doesn’t appear imminent but Xavi is a name to keep an eye on for the future.

The 44-year-old became Barcelona boss in 2021 as he left Al Sadd for a return to the Camp Nou, where he was a legend as a player.

Xavi won almost 63% of his games as Barca boss and won the La Liga title in 2023.

United and Ten Hag did though dump Barcelona out of the Europa League in the 2022-23 season, beating them in a two-legged tie.

Marcus Rashford was in red-hot form at that time and Xavi was left cursing his brilliance.

Speaking last year, Xavi suggested that Rashford was one of the toughest opponents for Barca in his time in charge.

Xavi stated that Rashford ‘cost us a lot’ and put him alongside Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema in terms of the toughest opponents.

Rashford has shown signs of getting back to his best this season and produced an outstanding assist against Brentford.

Ten Hag will be hoping to see more of that in order to keep his job, but Xavi may quietly fancy the prospect of coaching Rashford himself rather than coming up against him.