A lot has been fabricated from Manchester United‘s new boardroom setup underneath the INEOS regime, but it surely’s honest to say that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co have merely kicked the can down the highway with regard to Erik ten Hag‘s place.

Main as much as Could’s FA Cup remaining, the Dutchman was a lifeless man strolling, however having overseen a shock Wembley triumph, the powers that be determined – finally – to again their man. (Nicely, they prolonged his contract by a yr, no less than.)

Whether or not they have been swayed by fan sentiment or the euphoria of the cup win, the brand new hierarchy opted for a U-turn on their Ten Hag stance, seemingly overlooking a season of turmoil that had left the membership languishing in eighth within the Premier League desk.

A ruthless outfit would’ve sacked the 54-year-old no matter whether or not or not he had bettered Pep Guardiola’s facet, with INEOS now left in a situation the place a change within the dugout could need to be made mid-season – costing the membership a reported £17.5m if they’re to half methods with the previous Ajax boss.

For a lot of among the many United trustworthy, the hope was that Ten Hag may lastly be the person to shake off the spectre of Sir Alex Ferguson, and whereas two trophies have been acquired, the present marketing campaign is already gearing up for catastrophe.

Again-to-back 3-0 league defeats at Previous Trafford to rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur has introduced with it a palpable sense of Deja Vu, echoing the final days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and David Moyes – the pair each having been humbled at residence to the Anfield facet and Manchester Metropolis earlier than dealing with the axe.

Ten Hag now heads right into a pivotal week with away journeys to Porto and Aston Villa to seemingly save his job, though with the October worldwide break to comply with, a brand new face may properly be taking cost later this month…

Man Utd’s supervisor search

Recent from main England to the European Championship remaining, Gareth Southgate – who labored underneath Dan Ashworth on the FA for a time – has lengthy been touted as Ten Hag’s successor, with experiences lately indicating that the ex-Three Lions boss is keen to attend to exchange the Dutchman on the Theatre of Desires.

In keeping with the Each day Star, nonetheless, Southgate is not the one candidate that the Crimson Devils are believed to be contemplating, with Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi deemed to be a ‘severe contender’ for the function.

The report means that whereas Ratcliffe is ‘reluctant’ to sack Ten Hag only a matter of months after extending his contract, there’s a feeling {that a} change could have to be made, with Inzaghi amongst these to have ‘impressed’ the membership’s new hierarchy.

As per the piece, the 48-year-old – who led Inter to the Champions League remaining in 2023 – solely signed a brand new deal earlier this yr, with it but to be seen whether or not he could be keen to tackle the poisoned chalice that’s being United’s important man within the dugout.

Why Inzaghi could be an excellent appointment

Whereas United have toiled underneath Ten Hag’s watch, Inzaghi has been instrumental in steering Inter again to the highest of the European and home scene, having seen his facet solely narrowly overwhelmed in Europe’s showpiece final yr.

Had it not been for Rodri’s late strike – and a handful of Romelu Lukaku missed possibilities – the Nerazzurri may properly have curtailed Man Metropolis’s treble cost, showcasing simply why the United goal has been lauded as a “genius” by Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry.

Whereas the in-demand coach did miss out on that event, he’s actually no ‘almost man’ in the case of successful silverware, having claimed 5 Italian Tremendous Cups and three Coppa Italia’s, in addition to final season’s Serie A title.

In 165 video games accountable for the Milan giants, the previous Italy worldwide has achieved a stellar factors per recreation common of two.13, with Ten Hag, in the meantime averaging simply 1.87 from his 123 video games accountable for United. An improve, certainly.

What additionally units Inzaghi aside from the person he may probably change is his clear id, with Ten Hag – who Rene Meulensteen claimed has “no taking part in model” – seemingly the alternative.

The Inter boss notably utilises his most popular 3-5-2 formation at San Siro, with that tactical set-up probably set to assist revive a sure Bruno Fernandes if deployed at Previous Trafford.

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How Inzaghi may revive Bruno Fernandes

At his present facet, Inzaghi has labored wonders by overseeing the transformation of Turkish playmaker, Hakan Calhanoglu, with the previous AC Milan star having been efficiently transformed from a quantity ten right into a deep-lying midfield asset.

Hailed as arguably “the very best midfielder on the planet” by nationwide staff boss Vincenzo Montella, the one-time Bayer Leverkusen star – who, like Fernandes, is now 30 – was instrumental in his facet’s title success final season, scoring 13 objectives and offering three assists in Serie A, whereas additionally having fun with a 92% go accuracy and registering 2.9 tackles per recreation, as per Sofascore.

In his remaining season at Milan in 2020/21, in contrast, the skilled asset registered simply 13 objectives and assists, whereas recording an 87% go accuracy and successful simply 1.3 tackles and interceptions per recreation, indicating the enhancements which were made underneath Inzaghi’s watch.

The hope could be that comparable may happen if the Italian is to take cost of Fernandes this season, with the Portuguese maestro having began the brand new marketing campaign in depressing style, chalking up simply one aim involvement within the league, whereas additionally – harshly it should be mentioned – seeing pink in opposition to Spurs final trip.

The United skipper was notably underpar within the draw away at Crystal Palace after shedding the ball on 34 events, with Ten Hag seemingly not getting the very best out of his talisman at current.

Whereas the inventive genius has dazzled in a quantity ten function for the Crimson Devils to this point – chalking up 149 objectives and assists in all competitions – he has beforehand outlined his need to drop right into a deeper quantity six berth within the latter phases of his profession, thus making certain he may mirror Calhanoglu’s revival within the close to future.

Fernandes factors to the 2-0 win in opposition to Everton again in April 2023 as one of many best of his profession, a recreation that, apparently, noticed him deployed as a quantity six, quite than off the striker:

“In actual fact, in opposition to Everton, I performed no.6 and I nonetheless assume it was one of the vital full video games I’ve performed, in any respect ranges. When it comes to passing, recreation organisation, defence, ways. I’ve a little bit thought in my head that I’ll finish my profession additional again, as a result of everybody who began there and went to no.10 ended up retreating on the sector on the finish.”

Maybe a change in supervisor might be simply what is required for the £300k-per-week star to get again to his greatest and even to achieve a brand new degree, with Inzaghi – and his 3-5-2 set-up – probably the right resolution for this struggling United facet and its skipper.