In the last decade, Manchester United have hired numerous managers who all joined with the same goal: to bring trophies to Old Trafford on a consistent basis.
Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all tried but ultimately succumbed to sacking, and Erik ten Hag looks set to follow in their footsteps.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’ reign as the owners of the Red Devils will truly get underway this summer, and with the Dutchman’s future unclear, the search for a new boss may commence.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at who Man United have shortlisted to potentially become the new boss, with one manager in particular having a strong chance of turning Rasmus Hojlund into a monster.
Man Utd’s search for a new manager
Over the past month, plenty of managers have been touted to become the new United boss, but Thomas Tuchel has been the most frequently mentioned name.
However, as of Monday, German journalist Christian Falk has revealed that despite it previously being “very likely” that the former Chelsea boss could take over at Old Trafford, Bayern Munich are now attempting to retain their current boss.
Yet, the other name in the running for the job is Thomas Frank, as per a Telegraph report, who’s now become a “strong contender.”
It’s reported that United are keen to appoint a manager to aid with the rebuilding of the club instead of opting for a quick fix to success.
How Thomas Frank could turn Hojlund into a monster
Since taking over as head coach at Brentford in 2018 following a stint as the assistant manager, Frank has exceeded every single expectation, turning the Bees into a Premier League team.
The 50-year-old’s greatest managerial achievement will be without doubt earning promotion and cementing his side in the top division for three consecutive seasons, which is set to be four.
Understandably, the fact that Frank is a potential manager target for United may concern a handful of the Red Devils fanbase, especially considering his non-existent trophy history.
However, there are plenty of positives with signing Frank in particular, which could just prove to be vital for the proposed shift in culture of the club, and his signature could well get the very best out of Hojlund.
18/19
Neal Maupay
25
19/20
Ollie Watkins
25
20/21
Ivan Toney
31
21/22
Ivan Toney
12
22/23
Ivan Toney
20
23/24
Yoane Wissa
11
As you can see by the table above, it’s clear that Frank knows exactly how to get the best out of his number nine, whether that be Ivan Toney, Neal Maupay, or Ollie Watkins, and it is no shock to see that he's been described as "outstanding" by pundit Troy Deeney.
All three players hit at least 25 goals in each Championship season that Frank was in charge, and he’s also proved that his methods work in the top flight, as highlighted by Toney’s 20 league goals last season.
What’s interesting is that each profile that he’s worked with differs from the other, which means that regardless of the team’s approach or style of the player, he’s able to get results. Ratcliffe will hope that Frank could have a similar influence on his Danish counterpart Hojlund, whom the Brentford boss has previously labelled as “incredible.”
Unfortunately, Ten Hag hasn’t been able to consistently get the best out of the 21-year-old striker this season, with his eight league goals proving that they’ve been hard to come by, but the statistics highlight that it’s hardly Hojlund’s fault.
Just in the Premier League alone, the former Atalanta star has an xG of just 7.44, which underlines that Hojlund has been starved of service and chances all season long, especially when his stats are compared to other selected strikers in the league.
Goals
8
19
14
25
xG
7.44
16.63
17.80
26.84
Shots (per game)
1.3
2.9
2.3
4
Shots on target (per game)
0.7
1.3
1.2
2
Big chances missed
13
21
23
33
Overall, Frank’s track record of developing strikers and turning them into quality, reliable goalscorers is impressive, and he could just be the type of manager to turn Hojlund into an unstoppable machine.
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