Former Premier League star believes Erik ten Hag’s successor is already working at Manchester United

Manchester United’s next manager is already employed by the club.

That is the view of former Premier League star Gabby Agbonlahor, who was left stunned by their “terrible” performance against Liverpool.

Current Red Devils coach Erik ten Hag has been under pressure for almost a year as the club has lurched between surprising defeats and big wins.

This is a point that the Dutchman did not fail to stress while he was the target of much criticism.

Manchester United could only finish eighth in the Premier League last season, but they rattled Manchester City at Wembley in May, winning the FA Cup final 2-1 – a feat repeated many times by the current manager.

It earned them a place in the Europa League just when it looked like one of the world’s biggest clubs would miss out on continental competition.

An investigation this summer saw new owner INEOS – led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe – keep Ten Hag at the helm of the company, despite his links to other managers.

Instead, club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy and René Hake were brought in as new assistants.

The 54-year-old has also been bolstered in the transfer market with the arrival of Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.

However, performances this season have been far from impressive,

A questionable performance against Fulham was salvaged by a late winner from Zirkzee, before defeats to Brighton and rivals Liverpool.

And after seeing their form, Agbonlahor believes Ten Hag’s time is running out with potential replacement Van Nistelrooy already sitting alongside him.

“I don’t think he’s got the quality, to be honest, I look at him and I see a manager who doesn’t have that touchline presence,” he told talkSPORT.

“I hear him after the last game when he has to say to one of the journalists: ‘I’ve won the most trophies after Pep Guardiola and I’ve won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup’ and I just think to myself
“Yeah, maybe, but you finished eighth, what are you talking about?”

“Manchester United finished eighth in the league, their lowest ever, exactly. You were terrible against Liverpool.

“Why do you keep playing (Marcus) Rashford when he should be on the bench. Then (Alejandro) Garnacho can go on the left and you can play Amad on the right.

“He started with Garnacho on the right when his best football is on the left. Rashford on the left when he has confidence issues.

“There was a moment when Rashford was one-on-one with Konate and he literally turned around and went past him and the Manchester United crowd were shocked.

“Two years ago, Rashford would have gone past Konate and taken him on. As a striker, you’re dying to get a one-on-one chance. He’s turned around, confidence shattered, and you keep him.

“The players didn’t seem ready for the game either. So I think he has a lot of problems, Ten Hag.

“I think the owners are probably thinking, ‘Thank God we have Van Nistelrooy there,’ because I think Van Nistelrooy will rise to the occasion and take the job – 100 per cent.”

Asked whether that would happen sooner rather than later, he added: “(Sooner), 100 per cent, because if you’re part of the Manchester United owners you’re probably saying, ‘You know what, we’ve tried to find every manager possible to take his job in the summer but we haven’t been successful. We’ve kept him but if this continues, are we going to be seventh or eighth again?'”

“Other teams are getting better. Brighton have gotten better this season. West Ham have gotten better this season. Newcastle have gotten better this season. Spurs and Aston Villa will always be there.

“So the top 4 is miles away for this team, that’s true.”

And the current predicament is one of INEOS’s own making, says Nicky Butt, who played alongside Van Nistelrooy at Old Trafford.

He told talkSPORT: “I think it was forced on him, if I’m honest with you, because he openly admitted they were looking for a new manager. It was common noise. They had looked at Europe in the summer and towards the end of last season.

“But I think if they haven’t found the right person to come in, why replace someone they don’t really want with someone they don’t really want?

“You have to pick one or two favourites for that position. If they want to bring in someone who is fourth or fifth choice, he might as well stay with Erik ten Hag and hopefully bring us at least some stability in the Premier League.

“So I agree with what made them do that. But it’s obviously because they didn’t find the one they wanted.”