We’re looking for a trainer. Who will take over Manchester United?

As the season draws to a close, the talk among football fans in England is who will lead the famous Manchester United. The 20-time champions sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November after a string of poor results and replaced him with German strategist Ralf Rangnick. The hiring of Rangnick is only a temporary option, according to the management, and therefore United should start the 2022/23 season with a new man on the bench. Who will get that opportunity?

There are several famous coaching names floating around, some of which are more likely and some of which are less likely. The media mentions such managers as Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag, Diego Simeone and a host of others. So let’s take a closer look at all the possible candidates for the Manchester bench boss job.

Mauricio Pochettino

The current French PSG manager has a lot of experience with English football. He has coached Southampton, but he made a significant impact as coach of Tottenham Hotspur, with whom he reached the Champions League final in 2019.

The Argentine coach was known in England for his good work with the team, managing to compete with wealthy clubs like Manchester City or Liverpool, who spent often record amounts on new players, without major financial investments in reinforcements.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Mauricio Pochettino is also wanted by United players themselves. According to this media outlet, defender Luke Shaw, who met the Argentine during his time at Southampton, has been in contact with Pochettino.

The media has already brought information after the end of Solskjaer that Pochettino is not happy in Paris and could come right after the departure of the Norwegian coach. Pochettino is also the biggest favourite to become United coach according to The Athletic.

Erik ten Hag

The Dutch Ajax coach is another in a long line of candidates for the Red Devils’ head coach. Dutch big man Ten Hag led the club to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019, knocking out such heavyweights of European football as Real Madrid and Juventus Turin during his campaign. Under Ten Hag, a number of intriguing players have simultaneously made a name for themselves and subsequently left for the world.

Matthijs de Ligt, the team captain at the time, went to Juventus, Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona, Hakim Ziyech to Chelsea and Dony van de Beek to Manchester United. But even after the departure of these mainstays, Ajax did not stop playing wonderful football.

In the current season of the Dutch Eredivisie, Ajax are in first place with an incredible score of 71 goals scored and only 7 goals conceded. They are also in the Champions League semi-finals with Portuguese Benfica, with whom they drew 2-2 in their first match. In terms of trophies, Ten Hag has won five with Ajax, including two championship titles.

These are also reasons why Manchester United would like to sign Ten Hag. The team from Manchester has long had problems in defence and it is Ajax’s record in the Dutch league this season that could make the officials want to engage the Dutch strategist.

Diego Simeone

Roy Keane came up with the name of the Argentine troublemaker. The former Manchester United midfielder explained why Simeone would be the ideal option for the reds in Manchester. “Simeone has done great things. He’s a great character and personality,” Keane said of the current Atletico Madrid coach.

The Manchester Evening News, however, wrote that United fans are reluctant to Keane’s proposal and Simeone’s name has not been mentioned among the club’s board members. Thus, the arrival of this coach is not very likely.

Brendan Rodgers

The Leicester manager is another of a number of potential replacements for interim coach Rangnick. Rodgers has had a number of successes with Leicester. For example, he was able to compete with the “big six” in the Champions League, after the victory over Chelsea his team won the FA Cup.

For fans, this name would be very piquant, as Rodgers coached Liverpool for three years. A move to the United camp would surely be frowned upon by Reds fans.

The engagement of Rodgers could be hinted by the news that the Northern Irish coach has bought a family home which is just 13 miles away from Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home stadium. Moreover, pressure is mounting on Rodgers following Leicester’s ignominious FA Cup exit after a 4-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest.

Sources: The Athletic, Manchester Evening News, goal.com, Daily Mail