Ten Hag has ‘one life left’ at Man Utd as elite Prem coach urged to snub Ratcliffe advances

Erik ten Hag has been warned he is perilously close to being axed by Manchester United, while one of his potential replacements has been told not to take the job.

Ten Hag is under huge pressure at Old Trafford following the eventful 3-3 draw with Porto on Thursday night. Man Utd had thrown away a two-goal lead in the Europa League clash and seen Bruno Fernandes sent off again. Only a last-gasp header from Harry Maguire rescued a point for Ten Hag’s side.

The Dutch coach was already under threat of being fired after recent 3-0 home defeats to both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, but the chaotic performance against Porto has pushed him even closer to the sack.

talkSPORT pundits Jermaine Pennant and Simon Jordan have now provided their verdicts on Ten Hag. Pennant has given the 54-year-old a savage nickname, while Jordan has told thriving Aston Villa boss Unai Emery to steer clear of Man Utd.

“Two goals up, to then go 2-2? That’s just not Man Utd,” Pennant said.

“That was really poor. And then they had to bring on Harry Maguire to save the day in the 90th minute?

Man Utd boss labelled ‘One Hag’

“I’m going to call him ‘One’ Hag. Because he’s got one life left. He’s not ‘Ten’ Hag anymore – it’s ‘One’ Hag.

“It’ll be cheerio. If it’s a bad result [against Aston Villa on Sunday], it’s cheerio. I think they’re papering over the cracks at the minute with that performance.

“It’s just not good enough. And I’ve said this before. He’s just not the guy to take you forward.

“This is his third season. We’ve seen the teams around – Chelsea after their second season, how much better they are. We’ve seen Spurs after their second season, how much better they are.

“Man Utd with this as their third season – it’s like they’re going backwards!”

Jordan, meanwhile, was asked if Emery should consider swapping Villa Park for Old Trafford, should Man Utd chiefs such as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Jason Wilcox come calling in the near future.

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‘Why would you want to go to Man Utd?’

The former Crystal Palace chairman replied: “Why would you want to go to Manchester United at this moment in time? Man Utd are not the side to go to – besides reputation.

“And I know I’ll always be the first person to say there is a challenge in that respect because it’s the greatest job in English football if you can get it right.

“It’s also the most difficult job. And right now Emery, I would imagine, is pretty grateful for the opportunity he was given at Villa and is doing the job that he was brought in to do.”

Although, Jordan did add that the Man Utd job is the only major one in English football that is likely to become available in the coming weeks or months.

“So the only job that I can see… is the likely vacancy that will come sometime in the next six months in my view with Ten Hag. But it isn’t anywhere else,” he added.

“Because [Arsenal are] not getting rid of Arteta. Guardiola probably is going to be around for a little bit longer. And the new fella at Liverpool is just getting his feet under the desk. So where else is he going to go? He isn’t going to Spurs!

“With that in mind, you look and say: this [Villa] is the job. And this is the job that he’s got that’s he’s doing remarkably. And these are the sort of clubs he quite likes to manage. He quite likes to manage these clubs that are about this level to build them up.”

Jordan was likely asked about Emery potentially joining Man Utd as the Spaniard might cost Ten Hag his job this weekend.

Should Man Utd be blown away by Villa during their massive Premier League clash in the West Midlands this weekend, then Ten Hag will likely be given his marching orders.

Given how well Villa have performed under Emery, and how erratic Ten Hag’s Man Utd are, that is certainly a possibility.

Man Utd are already taking a look at managers who might be able to replace the former Ajax boss, though their list does not include Emery.

Graham Potter, Eddie Howe and Gareth Southgate have been identified as the ‘best of British’ coaches by Man Utd chiefs amid their hunt for Ten Hag’s possible replacement.

But sources have also confirmed to TEAMtalk that former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel is currently leading the charge to take over at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

Man Utd news: Garnacho update, Greenwood regret

Meanwhile, TEAMtalk understands that Man Utd view rising star Alejandro Garnacho as ‘untouchable’ and would need to receive a bid worth more than £70m (€83.6m / US$91.8m) to even consider a sale.

Barcelona and Juventus are both admirers of the winger, but they will find it very difficult to match that price tag. Plus, Barca’s top target for out wide is Nico Williams, so Garnacho would only be a Plan B or C option anyway.

One player Man Utd have sold recently is Mason Greenwood, who joined Marseille in July.

As per GiveMeSport, ‘key figures’ at Man Utd think the timing of Greenwood’s sale was a mistake. The club received £27m (€32.3m / US$35.4m) for him, though Man Utd officials believe he will quickly go on to become a £100m (€119.5m / US$131m) player.