Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Roberto de Zerbi reveals Man Utd ‘job offer’ and why he chose Marseille over the Red Devils

Man Utd wanted Roberto de Zerbi to be their manager

Man Utd wanted Roberto de Zerbi to be their manager

Roberto de Zerbi has reportedly revealed the reason why he rejected the chance to manage Manchester United before he joined French giants Marseille.

The former Brighton boss was one of several potential Erik ten Hag replacements shortlisted by the Red Devils over the summer, before they ultimately offered the Dutchman a new contract.

Ten Hag has since been sacked and Ruben Amorim is set to officially become the new Man Utd manager tomorrow, but De Zerbi has revealed that things could’ve been very different.

According to French outlet L’Equipe, De Zerbi used an overhead projector to show the ‘contract offer’ allegedly to him by Man Utd – with details such as how much he would have earned at the English club blurred out.

The report claims that De Zerbi then told his players: “This is where I could have been, but I put my passion before money. I came to Marseille for the passion.”

De Zerbi is currently going through a rocky period as Marseille boss, with the French side dropping to fourth in the Ligue 1 table after losing 3-1 to Auxerre.

The coach was furious in the dressing room following the game, and according to the manager, told his players: “You humiliated me, you humiliated our club in front of our fans.”

READ MOREMan Utd players warned only one is safe as new Ruben Amorim era poised to begin

Man Utd wanted to replace Ten Hag over the summer

Man Utd had a number of high-profile managerial candidates on their shortlist before the start of this season.

Along with De Zerbi, they held talks with the likes of Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, but were unable to reach agreements with them.

Sources have previously told TEAMtalk that Man Utd were ready to sack Ten Hag if they found a suitable replacement, but were ultimately unable to do so.

Those behind the scenes at Old Trafford were ‘both delighted and concerned’ when Man Utd won the FA Cup last season as it made sacking the Dutchman much more ‘problematic.’

That has all led us to the situation we have now, with Amorim set to take the reigns and being tasked with the job of taking Man Utd from 13th place back towards the top of the Premier League table.

Man Utd round-up: ‘Next Odegaard’ targeted / New left-back wanted

Meanwhile, Man Utd are reportedly interested in signing Norwegian midfielder Sverre Nypan, who has been tipped to become ‘the next Martin Odegaard’ by pundits.

The Red Devils have been linked with Nypan previously and a recent report has claimed that they are still keeping tabs on the teenager, even though they are now building a squad for a different manager than when he first caught their attention.

Man Utd are said to be ‘seriously scouting’ Nypan, who turns 18 in December but has already made 50 top-flight appearances for Rosenborg.

The recruitment team now believe Nypan would fit in well with Amorim’s potential tactics. Furthermore, the threat of other clubs beating them to him could encourage them to make their plans more concrete.

In other news, Amorim is reportedly keen to sign a new left-back in January to cover for injury-plagued duo Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw.

Reports suggest that Juventus star Danilo, who previously played for Manchester City, is on their radar. The 33-year-old is out of contract next summer and will be available for a nominal fee this winter.

He can play as a left-back, centre-back or right-back and his versatility, along with his affordability is said to be attractive to Man Utd.

DON’T MISSMan Utd players’ true feelings on Amorim revealed as new boss names ‘incredible’ player he can’t wait to coach