Why Man Utd owners the Glazers 'rejected' Jim Ratcliffe's top choice to replace Ten Hag

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) purchased a minority stake in Manchester United from the Glazers (Image: GETTY)

Sir Jim Ratcliffe may need to secure a new manager at Manchester United if he relieves current boss Erik ten Hag of his duties in the dugout. The 71-year-old is said to be keen to appoint ex-Chelsea manager Graham Potter, who he holds in high regard. But the Glazers already ruled Potter out of the top job at Old Trafford while he was still in charge of Brighton because of his lack of Champions League experience.

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Potter was linked with the United job as the club searched for a permanent successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the 2021/22 campaign. At the time, the Glazers had overall sign-off on football decisions as the Red Devils owners. But, according to The Athletic, the club were unconvinced about Potter’s credentials because he hadn’t managed in the Champions League at that stage of his career.

Potter wasn’t a complete novice at the time when it came to European football as he had guided Swedish outfit Ostersunds to the knockout stages of the Europa League in early 2018, where they exited the competition at the hands of Arsenal despite beating the Premier League giants at the Emirates Stadium.

But the Glazers were clearly after someone who had already encountered the top-tier of European club football and instead opted for Ten Hag, who had guided Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.

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Graham Potter was sacked by Chelsea last April after just seven months in charge (Image: GETTY) Stay up-to-date with the latest Man Utd news Join us on WhatsApp

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Potter went on to manage seven matches in the Champions League during a tumultuous seven-month spell in charge of Chelsea. He was sacked by the Blues 13 months ago following an underwhelming season in west London and has since been out of work.

According to The Athletic, Potter recently held talks with Ajax but turned down the chance to become the club’s head coach.

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The former Swansea boss’ stock appears to be rising again and he has been linked with the likes of AC Milan, Porto and Feyenoord this season. But transfer expert Ben Jacobs has revealed that Potter would be tempted by the Manchester United job should he be offered an interview.

Ratcliffe clearly has a big decision to make at Old Trafford, with Ten Hag enduring a miserable season in the dugout. The INEOS boss is known to be a keen admirer of Potter’s talents. And now he is calling the shots in the north west, he could decide to ignore the Glazers’ opinion of two years ago and bring the English manager back to the Premier League.

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