'Leading contender' to replace Ten Hag set for Man Utd audition

Tom Weber

Updated: 17 Oct 2024 16:57 BST
4 min read

This weekend can be a Manchester United audition of sorts for Brentford boss Thomas Frank, according to a report.

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Though Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag has survived the international break, the Dutchman continues to be under intense scrutiny. Man Utd have endured their worst-ever start to a Premier League season and this has put a target on Ten Hag's back again.

Man Utd's new INEOS chiefs would prefer not having to make a coaching change, hence why they didn't even consider sacking Ten Hag during the break despite the dire football displayed in recent weeks, but they know that they can ill-afford to miss out on Champions League football for financial reasons.

Therefore, their hands may be forced unless results drastically improve, with Man Utd currently languishing in 14th, having scored just five goals in seven games so far.

This weekend's opposition, Brentford, sit three places above the Old Trafford outfit and head coach Thomas Frank is now a 'leading contender' to replace Ten Hag.

Frank for Man Utd?

At least that is according to the Daily Mail, which on Thursday made the case for the Dane to succeed Ten Hag in the Man Utd dugout. The weekend's game can therefore be seen as an audition of sorts.

Man Utd's admiration of the 51-year-old is nothing new, of course. FootballTransfers already exclusively revealed in the spring that rather than then-England boss Gareth Southgate, it was actually Frank who was in the frame to replace Ten Hag had INEOS decided to pull the trigger at the end of the season.

Now that Thomas Tuchel has succeeded Southgate as the man in charge of the Three Lions, Frank is seen as one of the top options for the Man Utd job, having received ringing endorsements from Premier League peers like Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta.

The weekend's game is a perfect opportunity for Frank to show off his credentials - and to potentially hammer one of the final nails in Ten Hag's coffin, with a trip to Jose Mourinho's Turkish giants Fenerbahce up next for Man Utd.