Manchester United have been urged to pursue Xabi Alonso if they were to sack Erik ten Hag. Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman is shocked to hear of interest in Graham Potter and believes Alonso would be a better fit at Old Trafford.
Potter is widely reported to be the top target for United if Ten Hag was to lose his job. Incoming investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to be an admirer of the former Brighton and Chelsea boss.
Potter has been out of a job since he was sacked by Chelsea in April. He lasted just seven months at Stamford Bridge, losing more than a third of his games in charge.
McManaman doesn’t think Chelsea chiefs treated Potter fairly. However, he cannot see why United would view him as the ideal candidate to sort out their issues.
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McManaman told Betfred: “I’m not sure if he would suffer the same fate that he did at Chelsea, but I would be amazed if Manchester United got rid of Erik Ten Hag and replaced him with Graham Potter after what happened at Chelsea.
“I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Graham because I think he was treated appallingly during his time at Stamford Bridge. However, I would be amazed if Manchester United appointed him after everything that went on at Chelsea because if anything negative happens again, there would be so many questions as to why they took a chance on him after such a disastrous time at Chelsea.
“I’m not saying that it was Graham Potter’s fault, because that would be far from the truth, but I just don’t know why they would need to go there.”
McManaman instead believes Alonso would be an ideal choice for United. The Spaniard, who won the 2005 Champions League with Liverpool, has been in charge of Bayer Leverkusen since October 2022 and has led the German side to the top of the Bundesliga this season.
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Leverkusen are four points clear of Bayern Munich, having scored 42 goals in matches and conceded the fewest goals in the league (12). McManaman says United should pursue a manager with recent success such as Alonso.
He added: “Why not pick a manager that has just won the league somewhere? Why not go for Xabi Alonso who’s at the top of the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen?
“Why go for a manager that’s been out of work for eight months and had a failed experience at Chelsea? I’m not saying this is a failure on the behalf of Graham Potter.
“I thought Chelsea treated Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter terribly, but I would be very surprised if the latter was on the shortlist for Manchester United. I don’t believe Erik ten Hag will even leave Manchester United, but I’d be incredibly surprised if Graham was on the shortlist for one of the biggest jobs in world football.”
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