Thomas Frank is now the “leading contender” to become Manchester United’s next manager if Erik ten Hag is sacked, according to the Daily Mail.

The 51-year-old will be in the opposition dugout when his Brentford side take on the Red Devils at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon and it could effectively act as an audition.

Getting a result against United won’t necessarily make or break Frank’s chances of securing the position but it will certainly not harm his prospects.

Frank has emerged as one of the frontrunners after one of the favourites, former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel, decided to take the England job earlier this week.

Who is the favourite to become the next Manchester United manager?

Assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is currently leading the pack, with many feeling that INEOS will put the Dutchman in interim charge if they do choose to axe ten Hag midway through the campaign.

Despite stating that he will not take another job for a year, ex-England boss Gareth Southgate also has pretty short odds, along with Frank.

Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna and Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick are regarded as outsiders.

Ten Hag has lashed out at sack reports

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon ahead of the Brentford match, ten Hag criticised the press for making up stories about him being fired:

“The noises came from the media, some of you, not all of you. Some of you are coming up with stories, creating stories, creating fairytales, bringing a noise, bringing lies.”

There was a lot of speculation that ten Hag would be let go during the international break but the Dutchman remained in his post. Even so, he remains under a lot of pressure after a very poor start to the season.

Find out who is in Manchester United’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here