Four free-agent Man Utd managerial targets analysed

After a run of five games without a victory prior to October’s international break, there was widespread speculation that Erik ten Hag’s time in charge of Manchester United would be brought to a swift end.

The club’s hierarchy – led by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – undertook a review of the Dutchman’s position over the summer, off the back of a season that saw United record their lowest league finish of the Premier League era while also winning the FA Cup.

They decided to stick with the former Ajax boss at the time, but a slow start to the 2024/25 campaign has brought Ten Hag’s job back under the spotlight.

A complicating factor in United’s search for a potential replacement for Ten Hag is a lack of funds. Already walking a tightrope in terms of complying with the Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules, it will reportedly cost the club as much as £18million in compensation to sack Ten Hag and his staff. Appointing a replacement who is currently employed elsewhere will only add to their outlay.

As such, a handful of out-of-work coaches have emerged as potential Ten Hag successors at Old Trafford. TEAMtalk were able to exclusively reveal on Wednesday that Massimiliano Allegri, Xavi, Graham Potter and Edin Terzic are all in the running.

But what would each unattached tactician being to the Theatre of Dreams in their attempt to get United’s Ineos-led rebuild back on track?

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Massimiliano Allegri

Of the four managers linked with the United post, Allegri is by far the most experienced and would come with the highest pedigree.

The 57-year-old from Livorno rose to managerial stardom when he led AC Milan to the Serie A title in 2011, by which point he was already eight years into a coaching career that had encompassed stops with Aglianese, SPAL, Grosseto, Sassuolo and Cagliari.

He is best known, though, for his two spells in charge of Juventus, where he won five successive Serie A crowns, five Coppa Italias and was twice a Champions League runner-up.

Allegri’s reputation as a defence-first tactician is backed up by the fact Juventus boasted the best defensive record in Serie A every season in his first five-year spell in Turin.

But when he had the players to do so, Allegri was not averse to loosening the reins. His first Juve team were a prime example. With a resolute backline built around Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, he allowed creative players such as Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez to thrive further forward in a 4-3-1-2 set-up.

Allegri has also been an adaptable coach throughout his career, never married to one set style or formation. At Juventus, he utilised the aforementioned 4-3-1-2 shape as well as 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 3-5-2 and more.

It must be noted, however, than in terms of his prospects for the United job, Allegri’s stock is presently at its lowest point after his second stint at the Juventus helm, which began in 2021 and saw him sacked at the end of last season and was much less successful than his first. In his most recent spell he posted a win rate of 53.96 per cent, compared to 70.48 per cent previously.

Xavi

The preferred tactical approach of former Barcelona boss Xavi is much easier to pinpoint.

The 44-year-old ex-Spain playmaker has reportedly already met with United to discuss the possibility of replacing Ten Hag. And what the Red Devils would be getting tactically from the Catalan would be a far greater emphasis on possession and control than they’ve seen under Ten Hag.

An acolyte of Barca great Johan Cruyff and City boss Pep Guardiola – under whom he starred during his playing career – Xavi adheres to the Barcelona model of high-volume short passing and positional play from a 4-3-3 base favoured throughout his Camp Nou upbringing.

A La Liga title winner in the 2022/23 season, Xavi also puts a great emphasis on man-management.

“The matter of managing a dressing room is almost more important than the tactical matter,” he said of his managerial style. “At the end of the day we become half coaches, half psychologists.

“Being an elite footballer made more empathetic to the players who don’t play as much and I also know what the growth of a footballer feels like, and who needs a more loving approach. This gives me a sense of control over the dressing room.”

Graham Potter

Out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023, Potter was linked with the England job before Thomas Tuchel’s appointment this month and has been connected with the United post ever since Ineos took over sporting control of the club.

His disastrous, 31-game spell in charge at Stamford Bridge has dealt the 49-year-old’s reputation a blow. But prior to his doomed stint with the Blues, Potter was viewed as one of the most progressive, innovative and forward-thinking English coaches of his generation.

Following success in Sweden with Ostersund, Potter caught the eye after taking charge of Swansea in 2018. Espousing a fluid, attack-minded and possession-based style of play, a mid-table Championship finish at the end of his first season was enough to convince Brighton to appoint Potter as Chris Hughton’s replacement in 2019.

In his first campaign at the AmEx, Potter led Brighton to their highest-ever Premier League points tally, with 41. He matched that figure in his second season before driving the Seagulls to a best-ever ninth-place finish the following season and a record 51-point haul.

At Brighton, Potter favoured a three-at-the-back approach, usually in the form of a 3-4-2-1 formation, with two inside-forwards supporting a central striker.

There was an eye-catching fluidity to Brighton under Potter, too, with the wide centre-backs emboldened to push forward into attack, and he would adjust his tactics and formation to expose the weaknesses of opponents.

Edin Terzic

Aged just 41, former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic doesn’t boast the experience of the others listed here, nor the list of honours to match Allegri or Xavi.

He first took charge at Signal Iduna Park on an interim basis when Lucien Favre was sacked during the 2020/21 campaign. At the end of that season, he led Dortmund to a DFB Cup triumph – the only trophy of his career to date – but it wasn’t enough to earn him the job permanently, as Marco Rose was appointed.

Terzic remained with the club as assistant coach before becoming technical director. When Rose left at the end of the 2022/22 season, Terzic stepped in again, this time on a permanent basis.

The young coach took Dortmund to a second-place Bundesliga finish in his first full season at the helm, missing out on the title to Tuchel’s Bayern Munich on the last day of the season. And last term he masterminded BVB’s unlikely run to the Champions League final, where they were beaten by Real Madrid.

Tactically, Terzic tended to set up his Dortmund side in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 shape, but during the build-up phase he’d instruct a defensive midfielder – usually Emre Can – to drop into the backline to form a back three as the full-backs pushed up.

The way Terzic structured his team during the 2022/23 season was key in unlocking Jude Bellingham as an attacking force, as the England midfielder shone in a box-to-box role and showcased the scoring instincts that would propel him to superstardom after his move to Real Madrid.

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