Pep Guardiola recommends some new ideas and coaching crew for Manchester United 

Pep Guardiola recommends some new ideas and coaching crew for Manchester United

Man Utd could soon be on the lookout for a manager to replace Erik ten Hag and there is one candidate who ticks a lot of boxes, but not all of them.

Simone Inzaghi and Pep Guardiola contested the 2023 Champions League final in Istanbul

According to reports in Italy, Manchester United have already tried tempting Simone Inzaghi away from Inter as they consider potential candidates to replace Erik ten Hag.

 

The Dutchman’s future remains in doubt at Old Trafford after overseeing just three wins from the first 11 games of this season and while a six-hour executive committee meeting on Tuesday hasn’t yet resulted in a change, Ten Hag certainly isn’t out of the woods just yet.

 

One issue surrounding whether to keep faith with Ten Hag or look for a new manager is the quality of candidates available. There isn’t a standout name that Ineos could immediately turn to.

 

On the quality of his CV, you would expect Inzaghi to be up there, but those reports that he has already turned down an approach have been played down. If Ten Hag is sacked, the Italian isn’t among the frontrunners at the moment. There is a reason he remains 33/1 to be United’s next permanent manager.

 

Yet, on paper, his claims are high. An eight-year coaching career has brought success at Lazio and Inter. There was a Coppa Italia and a Supercoppa with the former and a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia wins and three Suppercoppa triumphs in Milan, not to mention an appearance in the 2023 Champions League final.

 

Inter’s performance against Manchester City that night was impressive and they were unfortunate to lose in Istanbul. The 48-year-old’s win rate across both clubs is 58%, and his Inter team are among the most watchable and tactically astute in Europe. For an Italian club side, they are also attacking and score plenty of goals.

 

In a foreword to Arrigo Sacchi’s book The Visionary Realist, Pep Guardiola remarked on the struggles his team had against Inter in that final. “They play modern football, are physically very strong, and very well-coached by Simone Inzaghi,” he wrote.

 

 

It’s a CV that looks worthy of a job the size of the one that could soon be available at Old Trafford, but there might be a couple of reasons Inzaghi isn’t an option. One is that he might see success as being more achievable at the San Siro than at Old Trafford.

 

 

Inzaghi, who has never played or coached outside of Italy, doesn’t speak English and that is a major impediment. In fact, it’s too big of an issue to overcome when communication is such a vital part of the job these days.

 

Mauricio Pochettino arrived at Southampton with almost no English and would use a translator, but the demands of that job are very different from those at United. It seems like any potential manager needs to speak English, which would be the language of the dressing room.

 

In 2023 La Repubblica reported that Inzaghi’s work was attracting the interest of Premier League teams, and he was linked with the Liverpool vacancy as they looked for a replacement for Jurgen Klopp earlier this year. As the same report in the Italian press noted, Inzaghii is happy at Inter because of the language barrier that presents itself in England.

 

Italian coaches have generally travelled well to the Premier League. Four of them – Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Mancini, Claudio Ranieri and Antonio Conte – have won the title, a level of success unmatched by any other nationality. Inzaghi looks a worthy heir to their throne, and his work at Lazio and Inter suggests he is an excellent coach, but until he becomes more proficient in English, he is unlikely to try and become the fifth Italian to conquer the Premier League.