Manchester United twist as Sir Jim Ratcliffe 'holds secret meeting' with potential Erik ten Hag replacement
WATCH NOW: Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag demands immediate Champions League return
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly met with Graham Potter as pressure mounts on Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
The Dutchman saw his side crash out of the Champions League on Tuesday night, with Bayern Munich winning 1-0 at Old Trafford following a goal from Kingsley Coman.
Ten Hag has been unable to improve United this term, with the club losing 12 matches across all competitions.
Seven of those defeats have come in the Premier League, with four coming in Europe. They were also dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle, too, despite winning the competition last season.
Manchester United are set to welcome Sir Jim Ratcliffe to Old Trafford
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United, for now, insist Ten Hag has their backing.
Yet with Ratcliffe in line to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club, there's a possibility that will change.
The Sun say the INEOS chief has secretly met with Potter, who remains available following his sacking by Chelsea earlier in the year.
The Englishman struggled during his brief spell at Stamford Bridge.
However, before failing at Chelsea, he impressed with stints in charge of Brighton and Swansea.
The report says Ten Hag could lose his job if United slump to defeat away at Liverpool on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho was axed after a 3-1 defeat to the same side back in 2018, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer then coming in as his replacement.
United lost 7-0 to Liverpool in the same fixture last season.
And with Jurgen Klopp's side currently soaring, the Red Devils seemingly face a big fight to avoid another chastening defeat.
Ratcliffe is said to be a 'huge fan' of Potter while the INEOS chief waits to secure power at Old Trafford.
After agreeing to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club, the British billionaire is poised to take control of sporting matters.
Potter reportedly turned down the chance to manage Stoke recently following the departure of Alex Neil.
And he'll only return to management if a 'major job' becomes available.
Meanwhile, speaking after United's Champions League exit to Bayern Munich earlier in the week, Ten Hag said he had 'no regrets' over their European campaign.
“Not regret, no. We didn’t make it, but we have to accept it," he said.
"We have to learn from it. We played some good football in the Champions League.
"We have to take belief into the Premier League because we want to qualify again for the Champions League.”
On United's poor results in the group stages, he added: “I look to my team and we had the opportunities in games, in winning positions, we scored many goals but we have to see we gave it away sometimes by individual errors, not one player but more players, not every time the same, so we gave the opponent the opportunities to return.
"We had very good spells so we have to do better but the fact is not enough points.
"We are disappointed as a group, as a manager I am disappointed.
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Manchester United could hire Graham Potter as a replacement for Erik ten Hag
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"We should have done better.”
While United lost 7-0 to Liverpool at Anfield last term, they did beat the Reds 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho struck, with Mohamed Salah netting a consolation for the Merseyside outfit.