New favourite emerges to replace Erik ten Hag as Man Utd manager after devastating Spurs defeat

A new favourite has emerged to replace Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager after his side's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford.

United suffered a miserable afternoon, one which saw them reduced to 10 players for the entire second half after Bruno Fernandes was sent off.

Ten Hag's side struggled to compete during the first 45 minutes, with Brennan Johnson putting Spurs ahead on three minutes following a long-distance sprint forward from Micky van de Ven.

Spurs never looked back from there, and were in control of the game until the sending off. Dejan Kulusevski made it 2-0 early in the second half.

United had a brief spell of chances between 65 and 75 minutes, with Alejandro Garnacho twice coming close.

But Dominic Solanke's close-range finish on 77 minutes ended any hopes United might have had of salvaging something from the game.

It meant yet another disappointing afternoon at Old Trafford for the home supporters, who watched their team lose 3-0 for the second time this season after the defeat to Liverpool.

United now sit in 12th place in the Premier League table, with seven points and just two wins from their opening six matches.

Pressure is again beginning to mount on Ten Hag, after the Dutchman's FA Cup win last season secured him a new contract and another opportunity to oversee another transfer window ahead of this campaign.

Last week, first team assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy and ex-England boss Gareth Southgate were the joint favourites to take over from Ten Hag if the Dutchman was to be sacked, as per Oddschecker.

But now, Van Nistelrooy has emerged as the favourite to take over the role via the same source, with shortest odds of 6/4 at BetVictor.

Southgate, meanwhile, has odds of 5/2 with the same bookmakers, and trails the former United striker elsewhere - although he is favourite to take the role (2/1) at Sky Bet.

The former England manager was heavily linked with taking the role last season if United were to make a change, and is now of course out of work following his Three Lions resignation after Euro 2024.

Van Nistelrooy hasn't managed since resigning from his role as PSV boss in 2023, but did win two trophies, including the Dutch FA Cup, during his only season in charge. He arrived at United to begin his assistant coach position in July.