Big-name manager rejected chance to replace Erik ten Hag as Manchester United boss

Former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi is reportedly closing in on the Marseille job, but rejected the chance to replace Erik ten Hag as Manchester United boss.

That’s according to journalist Santi Aouna via his official account on X, with De Zerbi said to have turned down the chance to take over at Man Utd this summer.

This comes following the news that Ten Hag will be staying at Old Trafford, with Fabrizio Romano telling CaughtOffside earlier today that Fulham manager Marco Silva had also been discussed internally by the Red Devils.

Now it seems De Zerbi may also have been in contention, according to Aouna in the post below…

?????? #Ligue1 |

? Roberto De Zerbi réclamait environ 10M€ / an aux clubs intéressés

?? De Zerbi a refusé une offre de Manchester United

?? L'italien a revu ses exigences financières la baisse pour rejoindre l'OM. Les Olympiens ont eux aussi réalisé d'importants… pic.twitter.com/jBBTzyPITe

— Santi Aouna (@Santi_J_FM) June 13, 2024

De Zerbi to Manchester United – could he have been the best man for the job?

De Zerbi did hugely impressive work at Brighton and it was anticipated that he’d attract a lot of interest from elite clubs upon leaving the Seagulls this summer.

Many United fans would surely have been excited to see the Italian tactician taking over from Ten Hag after the poor form of the team under the Dutchman for so much of last season, even if they ended on a bit of a high by winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City.

It’s a bit surprising that De Zerbi is not in contention for a bigger job than Marseille, though it will certainly be intriguing to see what he can do with the Ligue 1 club, who have the potential to be challengers to Paris Saint-Germain.

It’s not clear why De Zerbi didn’t fancy the United job, but it could perhaps be a bit of a worry if they failed to attract someone like that, and perhaps ended up having to stick with Ten Hag as a last resort when they spent a few weeks unsuccessfully sounding out other candidates.