Thierry Henry has now raved about Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi amid recent links with a move to Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag surely can’t feel 100% secure in the Manchester United job right now.
Yes, we saw United string together some wins in recent weeks but defeats to Fulham and Manchester City have piled the pressure straight back on again.
Even when United were winning, the performance levels were hit-and-miss, certainly not sustainable over a long period of time if United want to get back to the top of the game.
Ten Hag needs to prove himself to Ineos but, right now, the Dutchman will be in a fight to keep his job come the summer.
Manchester United linked with Simone Inzaghi
We are even seeing other managers being linked with the United job.
Reports last week suggested that United are looking into appointing Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi.
Inzaghi reached the Champions League final with Inter last season and only narrowly lost to Manchester City.
Now 15 points clear at the top of Serie A, Inzaghi is closing in on a league title and his stock as a manager is growing and growing.
Inzaghi’s Inter have conceded just 13 league goals this season, keeping 17 clean sheets along the way.
That is a stunning defensive record and Inzaghi’s approach has now been praised by Thierry Henry…
Thierry Henry on Simone Inzaghi
Henry was speaking on Sky Sports on Monday night and was asked to name a manager who he admires alongside Pep Guardiola.
The former Arsenal superstar named Inter boss Inzaghi as the one for him before praising his 3-5-2 or 5-3-2.
Henry believes that Inzaghi is the kind of manager who can put other teams in trouble in knockout games, making his teams so strong defensively but carrying a real threat going forward.
We saw that last season and Henry believes that Inzaghi is the kind of manager who can give Arsenal and Manchester City major problems with his tactical approach.
“Inzaghi. I’ve been following Inzaghi for a very long time, since his Lazio days. He was at one point known as a guy that, if you meet him in a cup game, you’re in trouble, as we saw with Manchester City struggling against his Inter in that Champions League final with their 3-5-2,” said Henry. “What I like is with Inzaghi is that he plays with two centre forwards.”
“Let’s put it this way. If you are Arsenal or Man City, you have that ball so much, sometimes they play as a 3-7, if you’re not in possession as much, transition will happen. Especially if you play against a team that play with wingers high and wide, it becomes really tough. I like the way the 5-3-2 looks; especially if we take Inter Milan and you have Barella, Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan, you have guys who can be three 6s, but when you have the ball, they are good enough to play. Then you have Lautaro Martinez that will come, and Marcus Thuram that will run into the channel when Federico Dimarco doesn’t do it, or if Dumfries or Darmian doesn’t do it.”
“You can have a look, they scored two goals like that against Juventus away from home and Milan at home, Thuram goes on his bike and you have a striker already there. If you play a 5-4-1, like a lot of teams like to play without being in possession, with one striker and wingers high and wide, when you hit that ball to the striker he can only hold it,” he added.
Whether Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 approach fits United is another matter, and some fans may not be too keen on the idea after the Louis van Gaal era.
Still, Inzaghi has been working wonders at Inter and Henry’s praise just adds to the idea that he could make a big move in the near future – possibly to Old Trafford.
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