Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is a man under immense pressure right now and Graham Potter may be one name in the mix to potentially replace him.
Sunday was another chastening afternoon for Erik ten Hag.
Manchester United were beaten 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford and barely laid a glove on Ange Postecoglou’s side.
This is exactly the result and performance Ten Hag couldn’t afford to have just days after drawing 1-1 with FC Twente.
The pressure is mounting on Ten Hag and he now faces two huge games against Porto and Aston Villa this week ahead of the international break.
Ten Hag is trying to rally his troops but the Dutchman faces a long way back if he is to finish the season as United boss.
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Graham Potter on Manchester United job
Ten Hag is battling to keep his job whilst knowing that Ineos explored potential options to replace him over the summer.
Reports as far back as January suggested that Ineos had ‘informally sounded out’ Graham Potter over a potential move to Old Trafford.
Ineos previously tried to take Potter to Nice and reports in June suggested that Potter was keen on the United job.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co chose to keep Ten Hag at the helm but Potter remains out of work after leaving Chelsea in 2023.
Potter has now spoken on Monday Night Football and was asked whether he spoke to United over the summer.
Potter played the question with a straight bat, rather unsurprisingly, and suggested that not everything in the media is true.
The Englishman added that he has had conversations with many people in the game whilst being out of work but wanted to keep those discussions private.
“What I’ve read so far in the media, a lot of it is untrue and false,” said Potter on Sky Sports (30/09, 19:37).
“I think I’m the only coach in world football that’s been linked with Stoke City and Napoli in the same week, so I take what the media say with a pinch of salt.
“I’ve had lots of conversations with lots of people and I think, for the respect of everybody, it’s best that I keep those private,” he added.
Potter will be in the mix if Ten Hag leaves
That answer was fairly coy from Potter, but United will certainly believe that he was at least spoken to by Ineos.
If he wasn’t, then he would have surely simply denied any contact rather than being a little more cloak-and-dagger about it.
Potter has been out of the game for nearly 18 months now and we would expect him to be in the thoughts for Ineos if Ten Hag moves on any time soon.
Ineos clearly like Potter having targeted him in the past and Potter even has a prior relationship with Dan Ashworth.
Potter and Ashworth looked together brilliantly at Brighton and Hove Albion and a reunion with the United sporting director may appeal.
Potter’s time at Chelsea may leave United fans a little concerned but he has shown his coaching quality in the past and still deserves to be at least considered.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/tKNj6nG