Ralph Hasenhuttl, Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag: Manchester United manager search intensifies – Paper Round

Manchester United are planning to step up their search for a new permanent manager this month, with the Athletic reporting that the Red Devils are “working towards making a decision in the next few weeks”. Ralf Rangnick has been employed in an interim role at Old Trafford since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking back in November. There is a reported shortlist of permanent options drawn up, including Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag. Ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Pochettino is said to the be the club’s “top target”, but it will cost a lot more to buy out his contract at Paris Saint-Germain compared to Ten Hag’s lower release clause at Ajax.

Paper Round’s view: Manchester United sacked Solskjaer five months ago but have failed to show much more improvement under Rangnick. The club could do with deciding on their new manager so there can finally be some stability and normality around Old Trafford. Ten Hag and Pochettino have been the two favourites in the media. If Pochettino costs more, it just depends on whether United are willing to part with a bigger fee. The Argentine developed a young and hungry squad during his time at Tottenham but has failed to prove himself as a winner at the elite level with PSG. It still seems like it could be a bit of a risk, but do the club have many more realistic options?

The Daily Star continue to assess Manchester United’s managerial options and reveal that the Premier League side have Southampton head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl on their radar. Club officials John Murtough and Darren Fletcher have been impressed by the Austrian’s work on the south coast and were particularly in awe of Southampton’s recent performances against both Manchester United and Manchester City. In addition to this, current interim boss Ralf Rangnick – who is expected to move into the United boardroom this summer – is said to have an influence on the decision to hire the next permanent manager. Rangnick worked with current Saints coach Hasenhuttl when the pair were employed at German club RB Leipzig.

Paper Round’s view: Hasenhuttl has impressed since joining Southampton back in 2018. The Saints boss has probably overachieved considering the lack of serious investment in the squad. There has been some inconsistent performances, but the Austrian has got Southampton playing decent football on a budget. Would it be a bit too much of a big leap to move to Manchester United in the summer? Probably. It would just be a huge risk from United and they cannot afford to make any more mistakes now. It’s been so long since the club were seriously competitive at the highest level, so hiring someone like Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag or Carlo Ancelotti would probably make more sense. The problem is that there is not one outstanding candidate for the job.

Barcelona have denied that the club have entered negotiations with Erling Haaland and his agent Mino Raiola. The Blaugrana have been identified as one of the many clubs sniffing around the Borussia Dortmund striker, who reportedly has a cut-price release clause that becomes active this summer. It had recently been reported that club president Joan Laporta and manager Xavi had met up with Haaland and Raiola, but Laporta has openly denied any negotiations. The 59-year-old has distanced himself and the Catalan club from transfer talks and stated that any negotiations would be with Haaland’s parent club Dortmund.

Paper Round’s view: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The club denies speaking with a player or his agent, then ends up signing them a few months later. It seems like Haaland’s time at Dortmund will come to an end this summer, so the conversation will turn to his destination. Barcelona are struggling to financially compete with the other clubs that are interested in the Norway striker, so conversations with the player and his agent would be an opportunity to help lure Haaland to the Camp Nou.

Cristiano Ronaldo took a surprise trip to Portugal after being told by Ralf Rangnick that he would not be starting for United in the Manchester derby. The Sun reveal that the 37-year-old was “stunned” upon being told he would be part of the starting team, despite the club’s medical team diagnosing Ronaldo with a hip flexor injury. Rangnick insisted that Ronaldo could still “make an impact from the bench”, but the Portugal attacker was “furious” after being axed from the team and ended up heading back to his homeland to recovery from his hip injury. Manchester United players were “surprised” that Ronaldo decided against travelling with the squad to cheer on his teammates in an important fixture.

Paper Round’s view: Who knows how true all the aspects of this story are? Ronaldo’s fitness status was questioned by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane before the match and the whole situation seems a bit cloudy. Ronaldo refused to accept he was injured… but then went to Portugal to recover from said injury in the warm weather. It’s all a bit odd. At the end of the day, no player is bigger than the club and it would not be surprising if Ronaldo left Old Trafford again this summer. His spectacular homecoming has ended up being a disaster.