It was an open secret that Ineos held talks with multiple managers over the summer as they weighed up replacing Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager.
This is certainly not the first time Erik ten Hag has been close to being sacked as Manchester United boss. Only a couple of months ago it seemed inevitable that he would be sacked after the FA Cup final.
However, after beating Manchester City at Wembley to win his second trophy in two years, Ineos decided to keep faith and reward Ten Hag with a one-year contract extension.
But the contract decision was only made after scouring the manager market for potential Ten Hag replacements, including Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino.
After an underwhelming start to the season, the Dutchman finds himself under pressure again, but after a meeting between club chiefs last week it seems Ten Hag has survived the international break.
Man United were turned down by Sebastian Hoeness
Ineos left no stone unturned during their manager search in the summer, and it has since been revealed just how close Tuchel came to becoming United boss.
It has now been reported by German outlet Bild that United also extended their search to Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness over the summer.
They claim United were keen on the 42-year-old manager and reached out for talks, but Hoeness “politely declined”.
It continues to state Hoeness was “flattered” by United’s interest over the summer, but no concrete talks were held because he quickly turned down the opportunity.
Hoeness has close ties to Stuttgart after his father Dieter Hoeness made them league champions as manager in 1992. His son is now following in his footsteps.
Who is Sebastian Hoeness?
It would be interesting to see whether Ten Hag would still be in the Old Trafford dugout if Hoeness had attended talks with Ineos over the summer.
It appears that he is admired by the new-look hierarchy at United, but it would’ve been a shock appointment given he was one of the more unfamiliar candidates.
But a quick glimpse at Hoeness’ managerial career shows exactly why Ineos had their eyes on the Munich-born coach this summer.
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Despite being 42 years old, Hoeness has been in and around management since 2011 when he took charge of various youth teams including RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich.
He landed his first senior job at Hoffenheim in 2020 but his biggest success story is at current club Stuttgart.
Hoeness joined Stuttgart in 2023 when they were in the relegation zone but he kept them up and then led them to a second-placed finish in the Bundesliga in 2023/24, earning them a spot in the Champions League. They finished ahead of Bayern Munich and only missed out to Xabi Alonso’s invincible Bayer Leverkusen side.
Hoeness has been branded Bundesliga’s “coolest” coach for his calmness on the sidelines, despite his team’s crazy run to Champions League qualification.
He boasts a 58.33 percent win rate at Stuttgart having won 35 of his 60 games in charge – only losing 13 of them.
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