Manchester United are expected to resume talks with Thomas Tuchel if they decide to part ways with Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman is under immense pressure after yet another poor start to a Premier League season that has included 3-0 defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham at Old Trafford, and a 3-3 draw at Porto on Thursday night after United had led 2-0.
i understands Tuchel was close to replacing Ten Hag in the summer, only for talks to break down due to disagreements about how much power the German would have and the financial package.
As reported by i this week, Gareth Southgate remains a favourite option among the Ineos leadership group.
i understands that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos owner, had preferred Southgate and Graham Potter for the job, but there are several figures at Manchester United who will make the final decision.
Such was the extensive nature of their search for a new manager, i can reveal Manchester United officials interviewed Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Frank on the eve of the FA Cup final in London.
Pochettino has since taken the job as head coach of the USA.
If Ten Hag fails to turn things around the club will be left with no choice but to sack him.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former Manchester United striker who has started his managerial career well winning trophies at PSV, has been brought in as assistant manager and it is thought he would be given the job on an interim basis.
Southgate has close ties to the new ownership, including Ineos sporting director Dave Brailsford and sporting director Dan Ashworth.
As one of the most successful England managers in history, he demonstrated key skills, overhauling the culture within the national team and navigating knockout football, that are needed at United.
But Tuchel has supporters in the hierarchy and is considered a world-leading coach who has won trophies everywhere he has managed, including league titles at Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain and the Champions League with Chelsea.
After coming close to the sack in the summer, following an eighth-place finish that was the club’s worst in 34 years, United backed Ten Hag with a one-year contract extension.
Chief executive Omar Berrada and Ashworth also publicly backed Ten Hag during an interview at the start of September.
Ten Hag was bullish after the Spurs defeat, insisting that he had spoken to his superiors after the game and was not panicking about the situation.
