With the spectre of the sack looming over Erik ten Hag, could Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa prove to be the final nail in the Manchester United boss’s coffin?
If history tells us anything, it’s that international breaks are often the time when big decisions are made.
Should the Manchester United bosses opt to move on from their beleaguered boss – Erik ten Hag has been backed with a revamped coaching staff, a new behind-the-scenes structure and a handful of first-team signings and results remain as bad as ever – then the start of next week may be when the gallows are erected and the noose is tightened.
According to reports, some Man United players believe Ten Hag is done for.
iNews add that the Red Devils chiefs will target Thomas Tuchel again, and could pick up where those talks left off over the summer.
The former Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich job was reportedly offered the job. He turned it down due to concerns over how much power he would wield in a structure which gives much authority to the likes of Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox.
There is also the Ruud van Nistelrooy option.
In hindsight, perhaps the appointment of the United legend – a Dutch cup winner as manager of PSV Eindhoven in 2023 – was not made purely with the idea of helping Ten Hag on the training pitch after all.
Manchester United reportedly offer manager job to Simone Inzaghi
Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Frank, Marco Silva, Graham Potter and the dreaded Gareth Southgate have emerged via the media themselves in recent days too, alongside Xabi Alonso, Ruben Amorim and co.
According to claims coming out of Italy, meanwhile, Manchester United went as far as to offer the job to another extremely highly-rated tactician with the view of appointing Simone Inzaghi to take over after the October international break.
Inzaghi turned the offer down.
And this is the problem Ashworth and co are likely to run into should they look to bring in an elite club coach under contract elsewhere with the season only two months old.
Inzaghi, though he may be flattered by the approach, was never likely to walk away from an Inter Milan side looking to defend their Serie A crown and do what they could not do in 2023 by lifting the Champions League trophy.
Pep Guardiola is a big fan of Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi
It was reported following the stunning 3-0 reverse at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur that Manchester United had installed Inzaghi as a serious target.
A former Italy international, 48-year-old Inzaghi made his name while guiding Lazio to three domestic cups between 2017 and 2019.
The brother of Milan legend Filippo has since taken his status to a whole new level. Inzaghi mastermined Inter Milan’s Scudetto triumph while taking the Nerazzuri to the Champions League final.
A highly flexible tactician, Inzaghi went toe-to-toe with some of the best minds on the continent back in 2023 and nearly kept Pep Guardiola waiting as the Man City boss looked to get his hands on Ol’ Big Ears for the first time since his Barcelona days.
“My Manchester City lifted the last Champions League, and everyone obviously praises us,” Guardiola said last year, Rodri’s strike deciding an extremely tight encounter in Istanbul. “But we could also have lost.
“The fina, was a coin toss. [Inter Milan] play modern football, are physically very strong, and very well-coached by Simone Inzaghi”.
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