Despite ending the season with two successive Premier League wins – and with an FA Cup final rematch with Man City offering further hope for redemption – Erik ten Hag’s position as Manchester United’s manager feels a little less secure this week than it did in the last one.
The sudden departure of Mauricio Pochettino from Chelsea certainly didn’t work in Erik Ten Hag‘s favour.
Manchester United‘s previously long-standing interest in the Argentine probably counts for little – there is a different bunch of decision-makers at Old Trafford these days after all – but the signs suggest that Pochettino has his admirers within Ineos too.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and tried and failed to lure the former Tottenham, Southampton and Paris Saint-Germain boss to Nice in 2022. Ratcliffe’s right-hand man, Jean-Claude Blanc, was also the PSG president when Pochettino put pen to paper with the Ligue 1 champions.
Even if United do not opt to go for Pochettino, Chelsea’s pursuit of Kieran McKenna – as laid out by BBC Sport – could force the Red Devils into action. Chelsea are moving fast for the Ipswich Town boss, potentially in the hope that of agreeing a deal for the United-supporting 38-year-old while Ineos’ focus is fixed on Saturday’s Wembley decider.
Manchester United linked Thiago Motta leaves Bologna
The BBC add that McKenna is unlikely to sign a new contract at Portman Road as things stand.
Another of Europe’s most highly-rated young tacticians who has also caught the eye of Ineos – one Thiago Motta – took a similar stance to McKenna. And while the 38-year-old remains in situ at Ipswich for the time being, Motta’s departure from Bologna on Thursday afternoon was maybe not quite as unexpected as Pochettino’s but certainly just as sudden.
‘This morning, Thiago Motta communicated to the Club his intention not to renew his contract with Bologna FC 1909,” writes a statement on the Serie A club’s website. “Having taken note of the decision, the Club thanks the coach for the extraordinary work done and wishes him the best luck for the rest of his career.’
This will certainly dampen the celebrations, Bologna a sea of red flares after Motta guided the Rossoblu to third in the table and into the Champions League for the very first time.
Erik ten Hag’s future uncertain
“In these two years, I have met a prepared and winning coach,” says president Joey Saputo, saying his goodbyes to a man who made the impossible possible. “(Motta) has given the team a brilliant playing identity.
“The achievement of qualifying for the Champions League consigns him and all the players to the history of our Club. I would have liked him to stay at Bologna, but I can only thank him and his staff for these wonderful seasons and wish him the best for the future.”
Motta, hailed by Cesc Fabregas and labelled a ‘fantastic’ talent by his one-time Inter Milan team-mate Wesley Sneijder, forms part of the next generation of supercoaches, alongside Xabi Alonso, Ruben Amorim and maybe the aforementioned McKenna too.
His new-found availability, then, is likely to shake the manager market to it’s foundations, Chelsea and Juventus also among the 41-year-old’s admirers too.