Man Utd bid deadline extended as Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim prepare offers
Benni McCarthy has been in the spotlight this season after impressing as a coach at Manchester United. However, the South African very nearly ended up taking a different job before rocking up at Old Trafford. And it’s curious to think how Marcus Rashford, in particular, would be faring if he’d opted to take on that role instead.
United fans knew all about McCarthy prior to his summer arrival, with the retired striker previously helping to eliminate them from the Champions League in 2004 while playing for Porto.
However, despite his brace for the Portuguese giants against Sir Alex Ferguson’s men that year, he’s proven to be a popular figure at Old Trafford.
McCarthy has been working wonders with the club’s forwards, with Rashford benefiting from his appointment. The England international has netted 27 times across all competitions, dizzying figures for somebody written off after toiling under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick last season.
Yet the 45-year-old very nearly ended up taking a different role instead.
The Athletic revealed earlier in the season that McCarthy had actually been offered the job of South Africa manager back in 2021.
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However, he turned this down and bided his time instead - with United then appointing him as a coach back in the summer.
McCarthy, the coach, wasn’t known to either Ten Hag or the Dutchman’s assistant Mitchell van der Gaag.
As a player he’d previously been wanted by Steve McClaren, who had unsuccessfully tried to bring the former Blackburn and West Ham hitman to Middlesbrough during his time at the Riverside Stadium.
When it came to his hiring, Ten Hag identified McCarthy as a possible coaching target and phoned his agent Rob Moore.
The 53-year-old asked if McCarthy would go for an interview at the club's Carrington training ground and that meeting ‘went well’.
The South African explained about being a coach in his homeland and, having helped nine players make their international debuts for the national team, Ten Hag was convinced he was somebody who could improve players.
Ten Hag asked McCarthy if he’d return and take sessions with the club’s under-23s players.
And he did exactly that, going on to impress and ultimately end up earning himself a contract with the club.
McCarthy didn’t even ask about his potential salary, such was his desire to be involved at a Red Devils side he’d spent his whole life admiring.
And he’s become United’s secret weapon as they battle for a treble, something that seemed unfeasible at the beginning of the season.
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