Man Utd 'already know their top target' to replace Erik ten Hag and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a big fan

Manchester United officials have already decided who their ideal replacement for Erik ten Hag will be if he is sacked following the embarrassing 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

On Sunday, Ten Hag suffered potentially the lowest point of his tenure as United boss after his side were defeated comfortably by Spurs in a Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

Following the dismal display from the Red Devils rumours began circulating that the Dutchman's job was at risk, with names like Gareth Southgate or Ruud van Nistelrooy touted as likely replacements.

But should the United board decided to part ways with Ten Hag, it has` been reported that they have already decided exactly who they will pursue to take over the role as manager.

Ahead of the season new United owners INEOS held meetings with several top managers as they considered replacing Ten Hag after United finished eighth in the Premier League last season, their lowest finish since the competition began in 1992.

One of the candidates considered to replace the 54-year-old was former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel, and a report from The Daily Mail in July claims that he is first in line should Ten Hag be sacked.

The report claims that, while Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his staff ultimately decided to stick with their current manager, they were highly impressed with the approach Tuchel said he would take to help bring United back to the top of football.

However, the German manager reportedly made it clear that he wanted to take a temporary break from the sport after a difficult spell at Bayern Munich, seemingly ruling himself out of the race at the time.

However, nearly three months later this may well have changed and United will almost certainly pursue Tuchel again if they choose to show Ten Hag the door after the Spurs defeat.

Erik ten Hag has won just three of eight matches this season. (Image: Getty)

But it would appear that Ten Hag is not yet worried about losing his job at United, as he told media on Sunday that it is not something that he, or the ownership, are considering at the moment.

“No, I am not thinking about this. We all made this decision to stay together, as an ownership, as a leadership group in the summer,” Ten Hag said.

“We are all on one page or in one boat together – the ownership, the leadership group, the staff and the players as well. I don’t have that concern.”