Man Utd rocked by news in Italy

Carlo Garganese

• 7 Apr 2024 17:30 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United have been rocked by reports in Italy that managerial target Thiago Motta has agreed to take over Juventus next season.

Calciomercato reports on Sunday that Motta has agreed a deal in principle to be Juventus’ next manager.

He will replace Max Allegri, who will depart the club at the end of the season after three disastrous years back at the club.

READ MORE: Which football managers have been sacked this season?

Motta had emerged in recent days as the hottest new name on Man Utd’s managerial shortlist for this summer.

The ex-Inter, PSG and Barcelona midfield star is one of the most exciting young coaches in Europe.

This season he has produced miracles in taking Bologna to the verge of Champions League qualification, while developing a host of talented youngsters like Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori.

READ MORE: Premier League top scorers 2023/24

But Calciomercato reports that Motta has shaked hands to take over at Juventus, who have not won a trophy since 2021.

Man Utd will thus have to look elsewhere for their replacement for Erik ten Hag, with Gareth Southgate, Graham Potter, Roberto De Zerbi and Kieran McKenna all on the shortlist.

Ten Hag to leave Man Utd?

Erik ten Hag is almost certain to leave Man Utd at the end of the season.

Ten Hag joined Man Utd in the summer of 2022 and enjoyed a decent first season as he took the club back into the Champions League, won the League Cup and reached the FA Cup final.

However, the 2023-24 campaign has been a total disaster for Ten Hag. United have lost 12 of their 29 Premier League games and have a goal difference of -1.

They face a big struggle to finish in the Champions League places, even with fifth position likely to earn a spot in the tweaked competition.

They went out of the League Cup early but worst of all were humiliated in the Champions League group stages.

Despite being drawn in one of the weaker groups together with Galatasaray and Copenhagen, they finished bottom of the pool as the Danes and Bayern Munich progressed.

United picked up just four points and conceded 15 goals, the most ever by an English team in the groups in the history of the tournament.

Ten Hag has fallen out with a host of players during his time at the club, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, while there has been scrutiny over his reported bad relationship with Marcus Rashford.

On Sunday they play Liverpool in a must-win match at Old Trafford.