Thiago Motta ’emerges as potential Erik ten Hag replacement at Man United’ after his brilliant work with Bologna… but Reds would face stiff competition from Juventus

Thiago Motta has reportedly emerged as a possible replacement for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United after his excellent work with Bologna.

The 41-year-old former Barcelona, ​​Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has Bologna on course for the Champions League with the team currently fourth in Serie A.

Motta’s contract expires in the summer and although Bologna expects him to renew, La Gazzetta dello Sport They link the former Italian international born in Brazil with United and Juventus.

Ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford is in jeopardy as they battle to reach next season’s Champions League while in the top five of the Premier League.

New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos will assess the Dutchman’s performance in the summer and Ten Hag is also hoping to deliver the FA Cup to Old Trafford to save his job.

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Motta quickly moved into coaching after retiring from the game in 2018, taking charge of PSG’s under-19 team before returning to Italy to work at Genoa and Spezia.

After keeping Spezia in Serie A against all odds in 2022, he replaced Sinisa Mihajlovic at Bologna in September 2022 and guided them to a ninth-place finish last season.

But this season, Motta has taken Bologna to a whole new level using their unorthodox formation: a 4-3-3 that could be interpreted as a 2-7-2.

Motta has committed to playing attacking football, with players capable of occupying multiple positions and whoever has the ball having three or four teammates available.

These qualities would certainly appeal to United, but they would reportedly face stiff competition from Juventus as Massimiliano Allegri fights to keep his job.

Motta’s agent, Darío Canovi, has always maintained that his client will one day coach in the Champions League.

That would probably be next season at Juventus or Bologna, but it is far from guaranteed at United, who are currently on their way to the Europa League.

They dropped five points late against Brentford and Chelsea in recent days, reducing their chances of catching Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur ahead of them.

Having already lost 12 league games this season, Ten Hag’s side are 12 points behind Villa in fourth and nine behind Spurs in fifth with eight to play.

United host arch-rivals and title-chasers Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.