Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag could be in line for a swift return to management following the sacking of Nuri Sahin.
The former Liverpool midfielder departed Borussia Dortmund after a terrible run of form that has left them in 10th place in the Bundesliga and 13th in the Champions League.
Last night’s 2-1 defeat to Bologna was the final straw after Dortmund had initially taken the lead only to throw it away just two minutes late in the game.
Following his dismissal, Sahin said in a statement: “Unfortunately, we have not managed to live up to Borussia Dortmund’s sporting ambitions this season. I wish this special club all the best.”
The Dortmund sporting director, Lars Ricken, said they had “lost faith in being able to achieve our sporting goals” under Sahin. “This decision hurts me personally,” Ricken said, “but it was unavoidable after the game in Bologna.”
Sky Germany has revealed that the Dutchman has been ‘shadow coaching’ for weeks and has a strong relationship with Dortmund’s advisor and former captain Matthias Samme which could see him installed as boss.
With Sahin’s tenure from the start of the season until now proving to be a sordid affair, Ten Hag would hope he can turn around their form which has seen just 12 wins in 27 games in charge, with 11 losses.
Ten Hag’s successes as a coach
While his Man United tenure was highly publicised and criticised, there were moments of success across his tenure that included two domestic trophies.
Across the EFL Cup and FA Cup, he boasted a record of 17 wins in 21 matches, beating Newcastle United in 2023 and Manchester City in 2024.
He helped guide them to 3rd place in the 2022-23 season but fell to a disappointing eighth place the following season – which followed on into the current campaign.
Before that, he built an incredible Ajax team which was full of young football talent that played football in the ‘Ajax way’. They stunned football fans with their 2018-2019 Champions League campaign as their run to the semi-finals was nothing short of mesmerising.
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After beating Juventus and Real Madrid, they looked set to reach a historic final but Tottenham produced one of the moments of the decade to score in the dying seconds to deny them a meeting with Liverpool.
He then went on to pick up two more Dutch league titles and a Dutch cup before leaving Ajax for United and there is enough young potential in Dortmund’s squad to make it an exciting potential opportunity.
Dortmund’s stars linked with the Premier League
While Sahin failed to get a consistent tune out of his squad, there are plenty of players that have been linked with moves to England. Winger Jamie Gittens has been in great form on the left wing this season and has attracted attention from Chelsea and Man United.
Karim Adeyemi has been linked with an assortment of clubs given his pace and attacking qualities. Liverpool, Chelsea and United have been listed as potential destinations for the attacker.
