Seemingly, the next Manchester United manager will be either current Ajax manager Erik ten Hag or PSG’s Mauricio Pochettino, with Spain national team head coach, Luis Enrique also in the run-in.
United have been without a permanent manager since last November after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked after a series of poor results, with Ralf Rangnick currently operating as interim manager before moving up towards a directory role.
According to Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail, Enrique has ‘many admirers’ within Old Trafford however, prising the 51-year-old ahead of the Qatar World Cup may prove difficult for Manchester United.
The former Barcelona manager was the last man to win the Champions League at the Catalan club, winning nine trophies from a possible 13, completing the treble in one of his three seasons at the Camp Nou.
Enrique certainly would fit the bill at the Theatre of Dreams, having also successfully managed a dressing room of egos including star names such as Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez.
One man who could be described as a polar opposite could be Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino was one of the names linked to the United job before the club appointed Solskjaer back in 2019, but the Argentinian has failed to set the world alight across the channel at one of the richest clubs in the world, Paris Saint-Germain.
The former Tottenham Hotspur boss failed to win Ligue 1 last campaign, although he took over midseason after Thomas Tuchel was sacked.
Pochettino’s Champions League high of getting to the final with Spurs in 2019 has only led to a downwards spiral, as PSG fell short at the Etihad stadium in last season’s semi-final.
This time around, the French outfit lost a two-goal advantage in the second-leg against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, being dumped out of the most prestigious competition in club football thanks to a 17-minute hat-trick from Karim Benzema, largely helped by yet another Paris Saint-Germain meltdown.
The result only led to large sections of Manchester United’s fanbase wanting the club to steer clear from Pochettino.
A poll created on Twitter by United legend Gary Neville saw Ten Hag as the preferred candidate for the Old Trafford hotseat, as the Dutchman won 82 percent of the votes.
https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1506521009914097670?s=20&t=ObOEfL-Y3KXNyQmqy8Gx0A
It’s understandable why many United fans want the 52-year-old.
Although Ajax were also knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 to Benfica, Ten Hag’s side have scored 118 goal this season, conceding just 28 times.
Prior to Ten Hag’s first full season at the Johan Cruyff Arena, the five-time European champions were on a run of four years without winning the Eredivise.
Since taking over, the former Utrecht boss has led the Amsterdam club to two league titles in three years, with the 2019-20 season deemed null and void due to the pandemic, though Ajax were top of the league before the halt of the season.
Currently, the 33-time Eredivise winners sit top of the league, two-points clear of rivals PSV.
Although Ten Hag may fancy the Manchester United job, a former United manager and a Dutchman had his say in his press conference on Monday.
Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal said: “Erik ten Hag is a great coach, and that is always good for Manchester United. But Manchester United are a commercial club, so it is a difficult choice for a coach. He’d better go to a football club.
“I am not going to advise him, he’ll call me himself. But he must choose a football club and not a commercial club.”
Whether the Old Trafford faithful agree with Van Gaal’s comments or not, the 70-year-old may have a case, as United are currently on a run of nine-years without a league title.
The next Manchester United managerial appoint must be carefully considered, and correct.