According to rumors, new Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has chosen to remove Erik ten Hag and replace him with Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi.

Ten Hag had a successful first season at Old Trafford in 2022/23, leading the Red Devils to an FA Cup final, League Cup victory, and a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Erik ten Hag to be dismissed by Manchester United?

However, this season has not gone as planned, with Manchester United coming last in their Champions League group and struggling to keep up with the Premier League’s top four teams.

Manchester United rebounded from consecutive losses to Fulham and Manchester City by defeating Everton 2-0 at the weekend, thanks to penalties from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.

But Ten Hag’s team were far from impressive again, conceding 23 shots to the Toffees, while Sean Dyche’s side considered themselves unlucky not to depart Old Trafford with at least a point.

Previous rumors suggested that Manchester United will wait until the end of the season to make a decision on Ten Hag’s future, but recent bad performances could signal a change.

According to Spanish daily Nacional, Ratcliffe ‘has decided to fire’ Ten Hag and’may interfere in Barca’s hunt for a new coach’.

Manchester United are ‘negotiating’ for Brighton manager De Zerbi, with the Italian being ‘the person they have in mind’ to replace Ten Hag at the end of the season.

De Zerbi ‘also appears on the agenda of other top-level teams’, and ‘it will be impossible’ for the Seagulls to keep him beyond the summer.

The Brighton manager is Barcelona sporting director Deco’s ‘preferred’ option to replace Xavi at the end of the season, but the Red Devils ‘will strive to prevent him from ending up at’ the Camp Nou in the summer, preferring to become Ten Hag’s replacement.