Rio Ferdinand slams Manchester United for not hiring Thomas Tuchel to replace Erik ten Hag when they had the chance

Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United’s owners may be regretting not sacking Erik ten Hag sooner with ‘one of the best candidates’ to replace him no longer available.

Ten Hag was sent packing on Monday less than 24 hours after the 2-1 defeat at West Ham which has left the club 14th in the Premier League.

It brings to an end the Dutchman’s reign at Old Trafford after just two-and-a-half years but that’s still longer than some expected given that he was close to losing his job over the summer.

Following a worst ever finish of eighth in the Premier League, United’s new minority owners INEOS interviewed potential replacements, but ultimately stuck with Ten Hag after he masterminded an FA Cup final win over rivals Manchester City.

One name who was heavily linked with the Red Devils was former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel who was available having just left Bayern Munich.

As pressure continued to mount on Ten Hag, the German remained linked with Old Trafford up until just two weeks ago when he was announced as the new England manager, replacing Gareth Southgate.

Reacting to Ten Hag’s sacking, Ferdinand said Tuchel was ‘one of the best candidates’ for the United job and thinks INEOS may live to regret not moving for the 51-year-old when they had the chance.

‘My big thing is it’s taken so long,’ the United legend said on his YouTube channel.

‘One of the best candidates that was sitting out there was Thomas Tuchel and he’s gone now, he’s become England manager.

‘England fans will be delighted with that but I think Man United will be looking at that and saying “is that one that got away?”.’

Tuchel is one of the most successful managers working right now, having won league titles with PSG and Bayern and the 2021 Champions League with Chelsea.

With him out of contention, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been appointed interim United boss, is the early favourite to succeed Ten Hag, with the likes of Thomas Frank, Gareth Southgate, Julian Nagelsmann and Sporting boss Ruben Amorim also contenders.

Ferdinand is backing former teammate Van Nistelrooy to do well but says he could also see former Barcelona boss Xavi at Old Trafford.

‘I’d probably give it to Ruud right now. He’s in the hot seat,’ he added.

‘He’s seen the place, like I say, it’s not going to be a big upheaval in terms of knowing and getting to know the players. He knows them all right now.

‘But Xavi, if we could get someone like him. Playing football the way Barcelona did with that aggressive football.

‘He won the league when he was at Barca, introducing young players into the team. He brought Lamine Yamal. That’s what Man United’s DNA is about.’