Former Bundesliga boss 'emerges as shock contender to replace Erik ten Hag'

A shock contender has reportedly emerged for the Manchester United role should the club swing the axe on Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman has overseen United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season as they sit 14th with just eight points from seven games and are winless in their last five matches across all competitions.

However, Ten Hag has avoided the sack after United's senior officials held a six-hour meeting at minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS headquarters last Tuesday.

But should the Red Devils' form continue to falter once club football resumes after the international break, it could leave United with a difficult choice to make.

Several names have been linked with the vacancy should Ten Hag be given his marching orders, including the likes of former Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel and ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter.

Gareth Southgate was another who had been mooted as an option, but he recently stated he wouldn't be back in a managerial role until next year.

However, The Sun reports a fresh name has entered the mix in the form of Edin Terzic.

Terzic has been out of work since he departed Borussia Dortmund on his own accord in June having guided the German giants to the Champions League final.

The 41-year-old, who completed his coaching badges alongside Potter and Red Devils icon Nemanja Vidic, first joined Dortmund as a scout and an assistant coach in 2010.

He departed in 2013 to work as an assistant for Slaven Bilic at Besiktas and followed the Croatian to West Ham United in 2015.

Terzic returned to Dortmund in 2018 as an assistant coach for their first team but was thrust into the spotlight as interim manager in December 2020 for the rest of the season after Lucien Favre was sacked.

He helped Dortmund win the DFB-Pokal with a 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig in the final but was replaced by Marco Rose, as Terzic instead took up the role of technical director.

But Terzic swapped the desk for the dugout once more as he was appointed the club's new manager as Rose left after just one season.

In his first full season at Dortmund, Terzic lost the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich on goal difference but slipped to a fifth-place finish in the 2024-25 campaign.

He made the shock call to depart Dortmund nearly two weeks after the Champions League final, stating he felt 'the club's new era should begin with a new man on the touchline'.

Nuri Sahin, who made over 270 appearances for Dortmund as a player, took over from Terzic in the summer having first return as an assistant in December 2023.

Under Sahin, Dortmund sit seventh in the Bundesliga with 10 points from six games but are first in the Champions League table having beaten Celtic 7-1 and Club Brugge 3-0.