MICHAEL OWEN has insisted that it does not “take a genius” to know who will replace Erik ten Hag.
The Dutch manager avoided the sack last season at Manchester United thanks to an FA Cup victory over Manchester City.
Owen, 44, believes that the club’s next manager is already at the club should Ten Hag leave.
The former Man United and Real Madrid striker believes that Ruud van Nistelrooy will get the job at “some point” even in a temporary role.
He told OLBG: “It’s an interesting situation for Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United, because if it’s five games, 50 games or 500 games, Erik ten Hag will go at some point.
“When it does happen, the club will look for a new manager and because that takes time, there is often an interim coach or a caretaker while that search happens.
“So if Van Nistelrooy doesn’t leave before Ten Hag, you would think that he would get a handful of games as manager like Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick have done in the past.
“Even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was temporary and he did well enough to buy himself more time and eventually they had to give him the job.
“It doesn’t take a genius to work out that having been a manager and now being the assistant manager at his former club, Van Nistelrooy could get to manage Manchester United at some point.
“But I think at this stage he’s obviously coming to the club to help Ten Hag change their fortunes around.
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“I don’t think he’s got eyes on that prize just yet but in the future I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if he got to manage the team for a handful of games.”
Van Nistelrooy, 48, arrived back at Old Trafford in the summer as the assistant manager.
He knows the club well from his playing days, having scored 150 goals in 219 games.
Fans are also convinced the retired striker is destined for the job after urging supporters to cheer the players during the win over Fulham.
He has some management experience, having taken charge of PSV in March 2022.
He won the Johan Cruyff Shield and the KNVB Cup but left his post with one game of the season remaining.
Man United kickstarted their season with a win over the London side thanks to a debut goal from Joshua Zirkzee.
However, the team were not able to repeat the trick in the second game of the season.
They were beaten by a later winner from Brighton’s Joao Pedro at the Amex Stadium.
By Lee Scott
One of Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag’s biggest headaches has been fixing their leaky defence.
Despite still not being anywhere near his peak years De Ligt has built considerable experience so far in his career with Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich and he has 45 caps at senior level for the Dutch national team.
While he is not necessarily a highly modern ball playing type of defensive player he is a player with the defensive strengths and instincts to help shore up a United defence that was, at best, leaky last season.
He has a great ability to read the game which was one of the biggest issues that we saw from the United defensive unit last season.
De Ligt is also a master in one-on-one situations, who shows strength and intensity in his duels.
The Dutch star does a good job in keeping things simple and tends to make good decisions in possession.
The pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt makes perfect sense for United and for Ten Hag as a young defender who is still to reach his peak.
He has considerable experience at a high level and he understands the game model and system of play of the manager.
Click here to read our full analysis on De Ligt joining Manchester United.
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