How Hasenhuttl became a top three candidate for the Man Utd job

As the summer of 2022 approaches, Manchester United are continuing the search for their next permanent manager, one who’ll take over from Ralf Rangnick at the end of the current campaign. While around a dozen coaches have been half-seriously linked with the Old Trafford dugout, there are three candidates who stand out above the rest: Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag and Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Whereas Pochettino and Ten Hag have been linked with Manchester United several times in the past, Hasenhuttl is a fresher candidate and an intriguing one.

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Why are Manchester United considering hiring Hasenhuttl?

According to the Daily Mirror, Manchester United’s football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher are increasingly impressed with Hasenhuttl and the job he is doing at Southampton.

The Austrian arrived at St. Mary's in December of 2018 at a difficult time for the club and helped to stabilise the team, keeping them up in his first year and then achieving two more mid-table finishes. They’re currently ninth, despite a 4-0 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday.

In addition to the fact that he now has several years of Premier League experience, the other reason why Hasenhuttl is being viewed as a good fit is the fact that he has worked with Rangnick in the past. It was Hasenhuttl who managed RB Leipzig from 2016 to 2018, in between Rangnick’s two spells as coach there.

With Rangnick set to move upstairs in the summer, directors at Manchester United believe Ralf and Ralph can work well together and be on the same page, having previously done exactly that when discussing transfer policy at RB Leipzig.

This gives Hasenhuttl one advantage over Pochettino and Ten Hag, even if he might not necessarily be as much of a marquee hire.

For now, though, the Austrian is simply focusing on coaching Southampton and finishing the season well. Asked about the Manchester United rumours, he replied in a press conference: “This is not in my mind. I don’t want to speak about my future every week. My whole energy and my whole focus is on the next game.”