According to 90min, Graham Potter is ready to become a manager again eight months after losing his job as head coach of Chelsea. There have been rumours that he is interested in working for Manchester United.
The 48-year-old took over as manager of Chelsea from Thomas Tuchel in September 2017 and signed a five-year deal. However, he was fired in April after only 12 of 31 games in all competitions were won.
Potter’s departure was announced after a 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa. Under Unai Emery’s management, Villa have been getting better and better in the Europa League.
According to 90min, Potter turned down the chance to take over at Lyon and Leicester after leaving Chelsea. Rumours that he would take over at Championship struggling Stoke City were also not true, but he is now ready to return to management in 2024.
Reports say Potter is in the running to replace Erik ten Hag as manager of Manchester United. The Red Devils are in a mess after a terrible start to the season. United lost their 12th game in all competitions on Tuesday against Bayern Munich. This meant they were eliminated from the Champions League, and their performance in Group A was the worst for the club since the tournament was changed in 1992.
United also didn’t get to go to the Europa League because they finished last in a group with Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen. They are currently sixth in the Premier League table, having lost seven of their sixteen games so far.
Last weekend’s demoralising 3-0 loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford has put even more pressure on Ten Hag. He already had to deal with rumours of trouble in the locker room, and the fact that big-name players’ futures are unsure has made things worse.
Erik van den Hag
Erik ten Hag is under more and more pressure at Manchester United. (James Gill – Danehouse/GettyImages)
Many bookies think Potter will be the next manager to take over at Old Trafford. He also seems to have fans at INEOS, the company led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe that is about to buy a 25% stake in United.
In fact, Potter was one of the candidates to lead OGC Nice, which is owned by INEOS and Ratcliffe, before Francesco Farioli was hired in June.
According to 90min, some members of United’s suggested new management team like Potter’s work. However, there are no plans to make any big changes in Manchester until a new football department is set up.
Whether United changes its mind about Ten Hag depends on how things go in the end, but so far the club has faith in him to improve things after years of underachieving. United has had problems off the pitch, especially with their activity in the transfer market over the last few years, which has made many fans angry. However, there were signs of improvement on the pitch last year when the club won the Carabao Cup, ending a six-year title drought.
Potter’s resume, on the other hand, includes three and a half years of great success at Brighton, which set the stage for the club’s rise, as well as stints at Swansea City and Ostersund, which he led from Sweden’s fourth division to the Europa League in 2017/18, famously beating Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium en route.
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