Featured Image Credit: Gety
Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United
Josh Lawless
A surprise contender has emerged as a potential replacement to Erik ten Hag, reports claim.
After being kept on in the summer after winning the FA Cup, Ten Hag finds himself immense pressure once again after United's worst ever start to a Premier League season.
Winless in five games in all competitions, the Red Devils are 14th in the Premier League and six points off the top four after taking eight points from the first seven games.
No official decision on Ten Hag's future has been taken but United officials did hold an important meeting to discuss matters last week.
A number of names continue to be linked as candidates to replace Ten Hag, with Thomas Tuchel spoken of as most likely to get the job.
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However, there is a new name in the mix. According to GiveMeSport, United would consider Newcastle boss Eddie Howe if Ten Hag was given the boot.
INEOS are said to be scoping out possible replacements and are great admirers of Howe, who has also been mentioned amongst the contenders for the next permanent England boss.
There have been some claims that Howe's relationship with Newcastle's current sporting director Paul Mitchell is far from perfect, though United would still have to pay a hefty compensation package to prise Howe away.
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They were able to strike a deal to bring in Dan Ashworth from the Magpies and he is now a key part of United's new structure as director of football.
Former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter has also been tipped to take the United job and dodged the question on a recent appearance on Monday Night Football.
Despite all the speculation, it is believed that United's top brass would still prefer to keep faith in Ten Hag.
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"I like Erik. I think he's a very good coach but at the end of the day it's not my call, "Jim Ratcliffe said on the situation recently.
"But that team that's running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren't there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [sporting director] Dan Ashworth - they only arrived in July. "They've only been there… you can count it in weeks almost - they've not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”