Michael Owen believes that Jurgen Klopp could transform Manchester United in “two or three years” if the Liverpool boss was appointed at Old Trafford.
United have confirmed that Ajax manager Erik ten Hag will take over from temporary boss Ralf Rangnick this summer. The Dutch coach has signed a three-year deal with Liverpool’s fierce rivals, who currently sit 6th in the table following their 4-0 defeat to the Reds on Tuesday night.
However, despite their current struggles, former Liverpool striker Owen believes a world-class manager would breathe new life into the United squad. The 42-year-old used Jurgen Klopp’s arrival at Anfield as an example of the seismic effect a coach can have on a club’s fortunes - but Owen is unsure whether Ten Hag is the right man for the job.
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“Based purely on CV it doesn’t strike me as ‘wow, that’s the next Manchester United manager’,” Owen told the Kelly and Wrighty Show. “You look at his wins, but it is in the Dutch league and it is being the manager of Ajax.
“I think if you swapped Jurgen Klopp and the Manchester United manager, I think give it two or three years and you’d be seeing similar performances from the Manchester United players that you see from Liverpool players.
“Bear in mind the thoughts we all had about Liverpool when Klopp took over and some of the players. They have all reached a different level and nobody will convince me a lot of these United players aren’t very good players.”
United reportedly attempted to lure Klopp to Old Trafford while he was manager of Borussia Dortmund, though luckily for Liverpool nothing came from the discussions. Instead, the German coach arrived on Merseyside in October 2015 and helped guide the Reds to both the Europa League and League Cup finals in his debut season.
Since then Liverpool have gone on to lift the Champions League, Premier League, and Club World Cup; while Jurgen Klopp’s side are still chasing a quadruple this term. For United, the club most recently won the League Cup and Europa League under Jose Mourinho in 2017.
