Manchester United have not had the best of starts to the new Premier League season, and their weekend defeat to West Ham United proved to be the final straw as Erik ten Hag was sacked by the club.

The Dutchman was initially backed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS in the transfer market, having guided the Red Devils to the FA Cup last summer amid a disappointing 8th-place finish in the league.

But Ten Hag, who signed a new deal over the summer, eclipsed the unwanted record of Man Utd’s worst start to a Premier League season, making a poorer start than the previous year.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is now in interim charge of the club, with the former striker now surely a prime candidate to replace his fellow Dutchman in the role full-time.

But who else could United turn to? Here are some of the options facing INEOS and Ratcliffe as another manager bites the dust…

All 20 Premier League managers' salaries (lowest to highest)

How much each Premier League gaffer earns.

ByCharlie Smith

Manager

Current team

Odds

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Man Utd (assistant)

1/2 fav

Ruben Amorim

Sporting CP

7/2

Thomas Frank

Brentford

5/1

Gareth Southgate

n/a

7/2

Graham Potter

n/a

7/1

Michael Carrick

Middlesbrough

7/1

Xavi

n/a

9/1

Kieran McKenna

Ipswich

12/1

Edin Terzic

n/a

14/1

Simone Inzaghi

Inter

18/1

1 Ruud van Nistelrooy Man Utd (assistant)

Top of the list is Ruud van Nistelrooy, who only returned to Old Trafford over the summer to become Ten Hag’s assistant manager. He has previous experience as a manager with PSV Eindhoven.

Van Nistelrooy will be interim boss “whilst a permanent head coach is recruited”, though given his experience and history at the club, there’s every chance a good spell in the hot seat could see the Dutchman land the role permanently.

2 Ruben Amorim Sporting CP

Ruben Amorim was heavily linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool prior to Arne Slot’s arrival, but the Portuguese boss stayed with Sporting CP, where he has been since 2020.

Man Utd’s famous relationship with Sporting CP has seen Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes swap Portugal for England, so perhaps the Red Devils could look at Amorim to replace Ten Hag.

Sporting are flying high in the Portuguese top flight and the Champions League, so it would be a big deal to prise him away from Lisbon, but Manchester United will be keen to show they remain one of the biggest clubs in the world.

3 Thomas Frank Brentford

Brentford boss Thomas Frank always seems to be in the running for a number of high-profile jobs given the brilliant job he has done with the Bees.

He was mooted with the position in the summer and could be there or thereabouts again now United have made the call to sack Ten Hag.

Man Utd supporters will know all about his high-pressing football after Brentford embarrassed Ten Hag’s side in August 2022, leading 4-0 at half-time.

He recently commented on the prospect of leaving Brentford for a ‘bigger’ club, but reiterated his love for his current team, saying that moving on would not necessarily be a positive:

“For sure if I ever got the offer to go to a big club and I decided to go there, it would probably not make my life better. I think we all know that. Maybe it is a challenge you need to try. I don’t know. It is not something I am thinking about,” he told The Sports Agents podcast (via JOE).

4 Gareth Southgate Free agent (last job: England)

Gareth Southgate has been linked with the Man Utd vacancy for months, and with his time as England manager now up after leaving the Three Lions following the European Championship, his next job could be at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils previously poached Louis van Gaal from the Netherlands after a successful World Cup campaign, and with Southgate taking England to the Euro 2024 final, a return to club football with the Red Devils could be an option.

However, Southgate has recently indicated that he will spend some time away from the game, though it seems he is still being heavily backed to return to club football.

5 Graham Potter Free agent (last job: Chelsea)

Graham Potter has been out of a job for over a year and is seemingly waiting on the perfect opportunity to return to the dugout, having rejected advances from the likes of Leicester City and Ajax since his departure from Chelsea.

He may well see Old Trafford as a brilliant chance to prove he can succeed at a huge club, so Potter could be one to watch now that United have a fresh vacancy.

Manager

Tenure

Win%

Trophies

David Moyes

2013-2014

52.9%

0

Ryan Giggs (caretaker)

2014

50%

0

Louis van Gaal

2014-2016

52.4%

1

Jose Mourinho

2016-2018

58.3%

2

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

2018-2021

54.1%

0

Michael Carrick (caretaker)

2021

66.7%

0

Ralf Rangnick (interim)

2021-2022

37.9%

0

Erik ten Hag

2022-2024

56.3%

2

6 Michael Carrick Middlesbrough

Like Van Nistelrooy, Michael Carrick knows all about playing at Manchester United and even being an assistant at Old Trafford after spending time alongside Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Carrick was even named as Man Utd’s caretaker manager for three games in 2021, but since 2022, he has been making a name for himself as Middlesbrough boss. The 43-year-old has his eyes on promotion to the Premier League at the Riverside and may well have admirers in Manchester for the work he has been doing in the second tier.

7 Xavi Free agent (last job: Barcelona)

Xavi has a La Liga winners’ medal from his short tenure at Barcelona, where he spent many glittering years as a player. There isn’t much to go on in terms of convincing others that he is truly an elite manager – indeed, it was his Barcelona side that was beaten by United in the Europa League under Ten Hag just over 18 months ago.

United have hired many big names since the deaprture of Sir Alex Ferguson, and Xavi would no doubt be a continuation of that theme. But whether he is what the club needs right now is another matter.

He may have succeeded with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal at his disposal, but could he get a tune out of this United team? The jury may be out on that one.

8 Kieran McKenna Ipswich Town

Former Man Utd U18 manager Kieran McKenna was linked with a number of top clubs over the summer, including a return to the Red Devils, but he decided to stay put at Ipswich Town after taking them from League One to the Premier League.

He committed his future to the Tractor Boys by signing a new four-year deal at the end of May, but it wouldn’t come as a shock if his name is mentioned again when it comes to the Old Trafford hot seat.

9 Edin Terzic Free agent (last job: Borussia Dortmund)

Edin Terzic recently left Borussia Dortmund after taking the Bundesliga side to the Champions League final, ending his six-year association with the club after also working as an assistant, caretaker and technical director.

The German also has experience in the Premier League as an assistant to Slaven Bilic at West Ham, and his attacking style of football could appeal to Ratcliffe and INEOS. His chances of actually getting the job may depend on the hierarchy’s preference for a long or short-term appointment.

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1 ByHenry Jackson 10 Simone Inzaghi Inter

There’s no doubting that Simone Inzaghi has impressed while in charge of Inter, guiding the Nerazzurri to two Coppas Italia and last season’s Scudetto.

He also went to toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the 2023 Champions League final, and earned a credible draw at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season.

Given his success at Inter to this point, it seems fanciful that he would give that up to join Manchester United, though we all know how much of a pull the Premier League can be to the best in the business.