Reporter claims Man Utd may take “chance” on De Zerbi if Ten Hag is sacked

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is coming under increased pressure and journalist Dean Jones believes that the Red Devils could look to take a chance on another boss in the Premier League who would “appeal” at Old Trafford.

West Ham 2-0 Man United

On Saturday, Manchester United faltered away to West Ham United at the London Stadium, eventually losing 2-0 thanks to goals from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus that extended their winless run to four games across all competitions.

Truth be told, the Red Devils had their fair share of possession and also created a couple of openings which they couldn’t take. In the end, they were stung by a more clinical opponent and will now be left to lick their wounds ahead of Aston Villa’s visit on Boxing Day.

Analysing their defeat, Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer took aim at Manchester United’s goalscoring record as they have netted the joint second-fewest times in the Premier League this campaign, bettering only Sheffield United over 18 games.

“It is embarrassing for Man Utd. They have scored 18 goals this season, only Sheffield United have scored fewer. Erik Ten Hag says ‘we have to stick to the plan’ but I haven’t got a clue what that plan is. There is something drastically wrong.”

Nevertheless, Ten Hag praised his players for certain aspects of their defensive work at the London Stadium, as he said:

“We defended very well for 90 minutes, that has to be always our standard like what we did there. You have to bring that to every game on the pitch.”

Despite this, the Dutchman continues to come under pressure and journalist Jones has suggested that he could be replaced by a high-flying Premier League boss.

Man United could “take a chance” on Roberto De Zerbi

Previous reports last month claimed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to sack Ten Hag and replace him with Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi, who has already masterminded two wins over the Dutchman in his time on the South Coast.

With Ratcliffe’s incoming soon-to-be-announced, Jones has now signalled his belief that Manchester United could look to tempt the 44-year-old to Old Trafford should Ten Hag fall under the axe.

“It might be that if and when ten Hag does go, Manchester United take a chance on De Zerbi because he has shown what he can do in that Brighton set-up. As long as he can work within Manchester United’s culture, fine. I think De Zerbi and Julen Lopetegui are the type of managers that will appeal to them.

“I’m not really buying that they’ll go for somebody like Zinedine Zidane or anyone down that route because I think you’re going to have to be willing to work within certain confinements, particularly in the early days as they start to get to grips with the changes that are going to be going on.”