Manchester United given green light to appoint Graham Potter, following ex-Chelsea boss's talks over next role: report

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Manchester United are poised to make a managerial switch at the end of this season, following a poor campaign under Erik ten Hag

Manchester United target Graham Potter during Chelsea's 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League in April 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester United have been given a clear pathway to appoint Graham Potter as their next manager.

Incumbent Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag still has an uncertain future at Old Trafford after a poor season. Manchester United crashed out of the group stage of the Champions League and have been way off the pace in the Premier League, drifting below the Champions League spots. 

Following another drab performance against Liverpool, however, United's future in the dugout might look a little clearer, with target Graham Potter looking like a major option to succeed Ten Hag. 

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.

Erik ten Hag has endured a wretched second season at Old Trafford (Image credit: Getty Images)

As widely reported and relayed by Sky Sports News, the former Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea boss has turned down the opportunity of his next post being in the Eredivisie with Ajax.

The four-time European champions are also having a poor season and at the weekend, lost 6-0 to rivals, Feyenoord. Sky also reported that Potter rejected the opportunity to return to management when he spurned Lyon's advances. 

This has provided United with the perfect opportunity to hire the 48-year-old, who was last month pictured with incoming Red Devils chief, Dan Ashworth, as rumoured continue to circulate that United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a fan of Potter. 

Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman and founder of Ineos Group Holdings Plc, following a Bloomberg Television interview at The Grenadier pub in London, UK, on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. "If you're in the automotive world, you've got a responsibility to try and improve the world's carbon footprint," Ratcliffe said.

Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is supposedly a fan of Potter (Image credit: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo's view, Potter may well be lined up to replace Ten Hag this summer – whose return to Ajax seems incredibly likely – but the option of succeeding Gareth Southgate in the England job shouldn't be ruled out, either.

Potter managed just 31 games at Stamford Bridge during his last coaching stint, though he recorded a higher percentage of wins with Chelsea than he did in his three years at Brighton. 

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Jadon Sancho is wanted by former club, Borussia Dortmund, while a new centre-back could be on the way. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared to troll Erik ten Hag.

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.