Bundesliga club eye former Man Utd coach Ten Hag

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 3 Dec 2024 08:32 GMT
• 4 min read

Erik ten Hag may be in line for his return back to football after being sacked from Manchester United, according to reports.

The Dutchman was relieved of his duties at Old Trafford after a torrid start to the season, with the club in 14th place in the Premier League table and without a win in the Europa League.

The nadir was a defeat against struggling West Ham in late October. After the match, the news broke that the United hierarchy had fired the former Ajax coach and he has been out of work ever since.

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But now he could be brought back into management, according to Patrick Berger of Sky Germany, who states that he is the candidate to replace Marco Rose at RB Leipzig.

The journalist posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: "A candidate at RB Leipzig if Marco Rose does not manage the turnaround: Roger Schmidt. The top coach was already close to taking over at Cottaweg in 2022. At the time, however, he was under contract in Eindhoven. Also a topic again due to his Salzburg past.

"According to Sky information, Schmidt does not currently want to take over a club. A move to a club in the winter is difficult to imagine. After his engagement at Benfica Lisbon, the native Westphalian does not actually want to take on a new challenge before the summer. It would take a lot of persuasion from Mintzlaff and Co. With Lisbon, the former Leverkusen coach is in the final stages of terminating his contract, which runs until 2026. In Portugal, he recently earned around € 12m (!) gross!

"Erik ten Hag, who is currently without a club, has also been on Leipzig's list recently."

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Marco Rose's future

The German is thought to be under pressure with the Bundesliga outfit after going six games without a win, with three losses and a draw. The club are currently in fourth spot in the Bundesliga, some four points from Eintracht Frankfurt in second. Meanwhile, they are 34th in the Champions League table, without a victory in five matches.

The last time they won was October 29 when they beat St Pauli in the DFB Pokal second round and they were recently hammered 5-1 by VfL Wolfsburg.

Their upcoming game, a round of 16 clash against Frankfurt, may well be the final chance that Rose gets before the club seriously sounds out replacements.

Rose’s men last won on October 28th, with Leipzig having lost three of their previous four league outings, including Saturday’s thumping 5-1 defeat away to Wolfsburg.

Indeed, the former United boss will face competition from Roger Schmidt of Benfica. The coach previously worked with Leipzig's sister club Red Bull Salzburg in the early 2010s. However, the report does state that he does not wish to leave his current outfit mid-season.