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Former striker turned pundit Michael Owen has made a confident claim about who could be Manchester United's next manager after Erik ten Hag leaves. The Dutch manager has not had the easiest of times at the helm at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils finishing in eighth place last season. However, he has not been sacked by the club hierarchy as of yet.
This will have something to do with Erik ten Hag leading the Red Devils to two trophies in as many years. In his first season at the club, he won the Carabao Cup, and then followed that up with a second season that saw them win the FA Cup.
His time at Old Trafford isn't guaranteed to be long-term though, as he will need to meet expectations and push the Red Devils into top-four this season. Michael Owen has spoken about Manchester United's potential future managers, making a confident claim about Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Owen told OLBG (via Mirror):
“It’s an interesting situation for Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United, because if it’s five games, 50 games or 500 games, Erik ten Hag will go at some point. When it does happen the club will look for a new manager and because that takes time, there is often an interim coach or a caretaker while that search happens."
He continued:
“So if Van Nistelrooy doesn’t leave before Ten Hag, you would think that he would get a handful of games as manager like Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick have done in the past. Even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was temporary and he did well enough to buy himself more time and eventually they had to give him the job."
Ruud van Nistelrooy now works at Manchester United as their assistant head coach, having joined up with the club this summer.
Owen believes this will give the former striker and club legend a chance at the helm eventually:
“It doesn't take a genius to work out that having been a manager and now being the assistant manager at his former club, Van Nistelrooy could get to manage Manchester United at some point. But I think at this stage he's obviously coming to the club to help Ten Hag change their fortunes around."
He added:
"I don't think he's got eyes on that prize just yet. But in the future I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he got to manage the team for a handful of games.”
Manchester United will be hoping that Erik ten Hag can lead the club to more glory this season, following their first win of the season against Fulham.
Manchester United very close to completing midfield signing
Erik ten Hag may have struggled with pushing the team to the top of the Premier League since he joined the club. However, the Red Devils have made consistent movements in the transfer window.
They have signed players like Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich, alongside Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna. Leny Yoro has also joined up from Lille.
However, they look set to improve midfield reinforcements, with Manchester United making a move for Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain. The defensive midfielder is said to be very close to an exit from France, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano (via GiveMeSport).
