Manchester United’s poor form seems to have carried over from the previous season with the Red Devils languishing in 14th place in the Premier League currently after seven games.
In the 2023/24 season, the Old Trafford side recorded their worst-ever league finish while conceding 85 goals in all competitions, the most since 1970.
At that point, it seemed like a matter of time before Erik ten Hag was shown the door. INEOS spoke with multiple potential replacements but nothing worked out in the end.
One of the more surprising names that the new co-owners spoke to was former Liverpool icon Xabi Alonso, fresh off his record-breaking Bundesliga title triumph with Bayer Leverkusen.
Alonso was approached
The Daily Mail have claimed that it was his former club who first tried to entice him back to England with an offer to replace Jurgen Klopp. The Spaniard ended up declining that opportunity after which United also came up with an offer.
In the end, the Leverkusen boss chose to stay at the German outfit with the defending champions currently fifth in the standings. However, he might not remain for too long with Real Madrid eyeing their former midfield maestro next summer.
“Alonso is one of the hottest properties on the coaching market having led Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title last season. He turned down interest from Liverpool and Manchester United to stay in Germany.
“Real Madrid view Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso as a leading contender to become Carlo Ancelotti’s long-term successor at the Bernabeu.
EtH staying has not worked out
“Ancelotti has just over 18 months left to run on his contract in the Spanish capital and work has started on identifying candidates to replace their iconic manager.”
As for the 20-time English league champions, Ten Hag scripted a surprise FA Cup final triumph which meant INEOS kept their faith in the Dutchman and even backed him considerably in the summer.
But the team have started the current season in dismal fashion, with this being the worst start to the league in 35 years. Ten Hag is under increasing pressure and if he cannot spark a turnaround, INEOS will be forced to pull the plug.
With Thomas Tuchel out of the equation, Sir Jim Ratcliffe does not have an elite list of replacements to choose from which might give the Dutch boss a bit of breathing space. Whether they go back for Alonso remains to be seen.
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