Man United's perfect Erik ten Hag replacement is out there - but now isn't right time to snatch him

Erik ten Hag has run out of excuses at Old Trafford. Manchester United are languishing in 13th place in the Premier League, with just seven points from a possible 18. This season, they have lost disgracefully to both Liverpool and Tottenham at home, conceding three goals in each game without reply.

The signs were clear as day that they would lose to Spurs, following a disappointing 1-1 draw against Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente in the Europa League, and as expected, United proved pundits right.

Results aside, the team does not play good football. They lack identity, which is surreal given the side play under a coach in his third season. Unlike his predecessors, Ten Hag has been backed in the transfer market. A club legend and huge brand like Cristiano Ronaldo was made to leave to please him. The team overpaid for Casemiro, a Real Madrid starter, and axed two-time Golden Glove winner and four-time club Player of the Season David De Gea, all for Ten Hag.

The club has done everything to ensure the former Ajax manager implements his style of football, but there's been no sign of progress. The club has spent £600 million to back him. He has cherry-picked a number of his former Ajax players, at great expense, and yet he’s still unable to deliver the kind of football - and results - he promised. Aside from Lisandro Martínez, none of his signings have lived up to expectations, with the most disappointing being his £86 million signing, Antony.

Reports suggest some United stars want the manager sacked. Pressure is now on INEOS, with speculation linking former England boss Gareth Southgate as a replacement. Others are linking the club to Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi.

While Ten Hag may deserve the sack, doing so after just six games in the Premier League this season would be unwise. Sacking him now would suggest that the owners have declared this season a write-off, shifting focus to the next. Among the two coaches linked with the club, Simone Inzaghi looks like the perfect fit, but it is doubtful he would leave a strong Inter Milan team this early in the season to rescue a broken Manchester United side without the benefit of a pre-season.

Gareth Southgate is available, but considering the demands from Manchester United’s partisan fan base and how hapless the team looks, a coach who has been away from club football for 15 years cannot be trusted to fix things now. Hiring the rarely appreciated former England manager at a club where fans expect miracles would be a disaster waiting to happen. Inzaghi is the right man but now is not the right time. INEOS should give Ten Hag for this season and part ways with him in the summer, irrespective of where he finishes—unless he wins the league, which would be a miracle.

Getting the Italian coach in the summer should be the goal, something they should have done at the end of last season but were swayed by the surprise FA Cup victory over local rivals Manchester City. Inzaghi has proven at Lazio and Inter Milan that he can work with the available resources, so the club's owners wouldn’t need to spend big to overhaul the squad. Short term pain, long term gain should be the approach for United here, as bleak a prospect as that may currently seem.