Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is staring down the barrel of a near-immediate dismissal from Bayer Leverkusen, according to multiple reports in Germany.
The Dutch coach lasted 128 games and a little over two years before he was shown the door at Old Trafford. Yet, his reign as Xabi Alonso’s successor in Leverkusen threatens to fizzle out after just three matches.
Ten Hag may have joined a club which finished second to Bayern Munich last season after winning a maiden, unbeaten Bundesliga crown under Alonso in 2023–24, but the central core of that side has been gutted this summer. Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, talismanic defender Jonathan Tah and flying wingback Jeremie Frimpong were ripped out of the backline while Granit Xhaka and leading playmaker Florian Wirtz also found themselves heading to the Premier League.
Arsenal-bound Piero Hincapié is the latest inching towards an exit door which may soon be filled by Ten Hag.
After a bleak pre-season schedule defined by a shock 5–1 defeat to Flamengo’s U20 side, Leverkusen eased into the second round of the DFB Pokal, Germany’s main domestic cup, against fourth-tier Sonnenhof Großaspach. Ten Hag’s side followed that up with a dismal 2–1 loss to relegation candidates Hoffenheim before an even more calamitous 3–3 draw with Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Leading 3–1 against 10 men with just 15 minutes left to play, Leverkusen somehow conspired to claim a single point this weekend.
German magazine kicker claim that Leverkusen’s public refusal to back their manager in the aftermath of this collapse is a sign of the club’s imminent decision to part ways with a coach who was only appointed on July 1. Sky Germany take a more measured stance, acknowledging the delicate position in which Ten Hag finds himself while stressing that no decision has been made just yet.
In the wake of that Bremen implosion, Ten Hag fretted that his side “didn’t function as a team any more.” Club captain Robert Andrich echoed his manager’s sentiment almost exactly: “We must start playing as a team immediately, otherwise we won’t win any matches.”
Ten Hag endured an even worse start to his Manchester United career. The Dutch coach oversaw a 2–1 defeat at home to Brighton before getting thumped 4–0 away to Brentford, becoming the first United manager since John Chapman in 1921 to lose his opening two matches. Ten Hag would not only hang on to his job, but won the EFL Cup and finished third that season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Erik Ten Hag ‘On Verge’ of Sack Three Games Into First Post-Man Utd Job.