Simone Inzaghi: the next Man Utd manager? Stats, tactics and a potential line-up

Erik ten Hag would be under no illusion that his position as Manchester United manager is under threat.

Barring a dramatic turnaround in form, the Red Devils are likely to endure another disappointing campaign. Following Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Tottenham, reports suggest the powers that be may already have a replacement for Ten Hag in mind.

Will Manchester United sack Erik ten Hag?

In 2023-24, Man United fell to a record-low Premier League finish. An unlikely FA Cup win saved Ten Hag’s job, coupled with a lack of viable successors on the market.

Once again the former Ajax head coach was backed in the transfer market. Man United brought in five players for just over £180 million, two of whom he had previously coached. In fact across Man United’s whole back five against Tottenham, four used to play for Ten Hag at Ajax: Andre Onana, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez. They conceded three goals, just as they did at Liverpool earlier in the 2024/25 campaign.

To put those results in their historical context: Manchester United have lost consecutive Premier League matches without scoring at Old Trafford for the first time since November 2021. Those were Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s final two home games in charge of the club (0–5 v Liverpool and 0–2 v Manchester City).

Ominous indeed. According to bookmakers, Ten Hag is the manager most likely to be sacked next across the Premier League.

With an international break looming, this is a time clubs often part company with struggling managers. But the question of whether there is a suitable replacement lingers.

Jim Ratcliffe, now fully in charge of football operations at United, may install an interim coach — such as assistant manager and club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy — before luring a permanent boss away from a fellow European super club when the opportunity arises.

However, one interesting name already linked is Inter Milan’s championship-winning boss, Simone Inzaghi.

Simone Inzaghi: the next Man United manager?

Inzaghi’s present Inter deal expires in June 2027, so poaching him would be expensive. He would also take some convincing. His son Giancarlo Inzaghi made both these things clear while talking to Tuttomercatoweb in April: “A future in the Premier League? From abroad, I witnessed a bombardment that lasted several days, but Inter remained in my mind. It is a club with serious people and there’s a good relationship [between Inzaghi and the bosses].

“There may have been a few clouds, but they are decent people and you couldn’t ask for anything better. And, in any case, [Inzaghi] costs dearly now!”

So is Inzaghi worth the likely price?

The brother of AC Milan legend Filippo Inzaghi steadily built his reputation at his former club Lazio before making the switch to Inter in 2021. Having learned under esteemed tacticians such as Sven-Göran Eriksson and Alberto Zaccheroni, it is no surprise to see him thriving in the dugout.

But since legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down more than a decade ago, United have gone through a litany of coaches whose tactical philosophies range from one end of the spectrum to the other. Inzaghi would be yet another lurch in a new direction.

What kind of manager is Inzaghi?

In a word, underrated. Paradoxically, it’s actually quite a widespread view, how underappreciated Inzaghi is outside of Italy, where he’s won Serie A, the Coppa Italia (x2) and made the Champions League final.

The recent 0-0 draw against Man City and fact Diego Simeone “likes how Inter play so much” might create a perception he is a pragmatic coach.

Yet there is an Ajax-esque element to how Inter build up under Inzaghi. When left-sided centre-back Alessandro Bastoni crossed the ball in for right-sided centre-back Yoan Bisseck’s match-winner against Bologna in March, Rome-based newspaper La Repubblica compared the side to the ‘total football’ Netherlands team of the 1970s.

Which is to say, Inter have a fluid style where players are often rotating through different positions to create spaces for themselves and disorganisation among the opposition. It was also under Inzaghi that Hakan Calhanoglu, previously a No.10, became a deep-lying midfielder to rival Rodri in the eyes of some.

That said, defensive rigidity and ball retention is among Inzaghi’s calling cards. Under him, Inter average the fewest take-ons per match, take the second-highest number of touches without losing possession (83.49%) and have the lowest forward-passing percentage (29.05%) — though in Serie A the bigger teams generally have low FFP% as they see so much of the ball (Napoli and Milan are next down the list).

When it comes to possession average, only Napoli (60.11%) and Fiorentina (57.28%) outrank Inter (56.74%). Most importantly, only Juventus have posted more clean sheets and conceded fewer goals (56/101) than them (51/103). This could be music to United’s supporters’ ears, given how chaotic their backline has been, regardless of unavailable personnel.

In terms of retaking possession in transition, only Atalanta (631) and Napoli (594) have more possession in the final third more times than Inzaghi’s Inter (579). As Lautaro Martinez put it: “We press very high and that allows us to win the ball back quickly, create scoring opportunities and keep the opposition pinned back.”

Another of Inzaghi’s calling cards is winning. In March he was averaging the best points-per-game record of any manager in Inter’s history. He also recorded more wins within his first 300 Serie A matches (179) than any coach in the competition’s history, including the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Helenio Herrera.

How would Man United line up under Inzaghi?

Since joining the club in May 2021, Inzaghi has managed over 160 matches as Inter coach in all competitions and one thing is sure: the 3-5-2 is extremely important to him. While positions may change during games (typically a 5–3–2 out of possession as the wing-backs drop back into defence), Inzaghi is committed to this starting formation. That’s a potential snag for a club with exciting wide talents like Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo. Were United to hire him, their wingers may become less important.

Inter play a stike duo of Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez. The width comes from wing-backs, along with much of the creativity. Inter attempt more open-play crosses per match (15.51) than any Serie A rival and left wing-back Federico Dimarco averages more than anyone. The Italy international has assisted seven goals since the start of 2023-24, more than any other ‘defender’ in the Italian top flight.

Luke Shaw is working towards match fitness but Diogo Dalot, though naturally a right-back, has made his injury less of a problem. The club’s 203-24 Player of the Season recently showed against Crystal Palace that he may even be more suited to Inzaghi’s fluid style.

“Dalot is coming inside as a number six almost and controlling the game from there,” former Man Utd defender Phil Jones observed for Sky Sports at half-time of that0-0 draw. “United have been really good in possession, created a good amount of chances. With Dalot coming inside they’re creating overloads.

“At times you had Mainoo playing as a 10 and Diogo playing in Mainoo’s position. Those were the overloads they were creating.”

In midfield, might Inzaghi make Bruno Fernandes his next Project Calhanoglu? Fernandes himself sees his career heading that way.

“Against Everton, I played no.6 and I still think it was one of the most complete games I’ve played, at all levels,” he told Portuguese news outlet A Bola in April this year.

“It’s a position I like, playing deeper, facing the game more. With the ball, it makes my game a lot easier because I have a broader view of the game and it is ideal for what we’ve talked about with the last pass, which can sometimes come from deeper on the pitch.

“The game with Everton was the one in which I created the most scoring opportunities, even though I was playing deeper and not playing as a no.10.”

Elsewhere Inter average the second-most through balls attempted, primarily through the influential midfielder Nicolo Barella as well as Henrikh Mkhitaryan. At United, Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo like to play similarly incisive passes. Manuel Ugarte perhaps lacks the passing range of these other midfielders, but could act as a key ball-winner in the high press.