Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes that Manchester United made a mistake by not hiring Graham Potter instead of Erik ten Hag.
As reported in the Daily Star, Merson feels United missed a trick by not appointing the ex-Brighton boss, who has just taken over the reins at Chelsea.
“I’ve said before that Manchester United should have got him ahead of Erik ten Hag and I stand by that statement.” he said.
Former Arsenal star Merson believes the Blues have done wonderful business by hiring Potter as their next manager, after the sacking of Thomas Tuchel last week.
Merson feels the English manager has proven that he can go up against the best teams and managers in the country and is looking forward to seeing how it pans out for him at Stamford Bridge.
“Graham Potter is a manager I really like. He has shown in his time with Swansea City and Brighton that he’s more than capable of creating teams that can go toe-to-toe with the best in the business. It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.”
Ironically it was Graham Potter who handed Ten Hag his first defeat as United boss when United had faced off against Brighton on the opening weekend.
Brighton had produced a brilliant display to beat United 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Since then, United have slowly built up momentum and are now on a four-match winning streak in the league.
Ten Hag’s imprint is also beginning to show as his team have beaten the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal in the process.
United did have the opportunity to hire Potter after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer midway through the last campaign.
Although Potter has produced a good body of work at Brighton, United earmarked Ten Hag as their man, after interim manager Ralf Rangnick guided them till the end of the season.
Ten Hag’s exciting style and impressive performances on the European stage has seen his reputation grow and he was one of the most sought after managers on the continent.
Both Chelsea and United are likely to be fighting for the same goals over the next few seasons and time will tell who comes out on top.
However, United should have no regrets about employing the Dutchman, with confidence building at Old Trafford.
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