Manchester United have reportedly identified four main candidates to be their next manager when Ralf Rangnick steps down at the end of the season.
The Red Devils sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November and brought in Rangnick as interim manager, but the German tactician doesn’t seem to be in contention to take the job permanently.
According to The Athletic, Man Utd are looking at Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag, Luis Enrique and Julen Lopetegui as their candidates to take over from Rangnick next season.
This rather intriguing list is slightly different from what we’ve seen in other recent reports, with Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers not mentioned.
Rodgers was recently named as a slight outsider for the job, behind Pochettino and Ten Hag, in the Manchester Evening News.
Enrique and Lopetegui are interesting additions to the list of candidates, with former MUFC midfielder Luke Chadwick telling CaughtOffside last week that he couldn’t quite picture Enrique in the Old Trafford dugout.
“Zidane, Mancini, Enrique … these three are incredible names in the world of football, but I can’t quite see it,” Chadwick said.
“With Mancini again there’s that connection with a rival from his time at Man City. I’m not sure Enrique or Zidane speak English, and I just can’t quite imagine them in the United dugout.”
Chadwick went on to suggest a slightly left-field candidate who might be worth considering, with Brighton boss Graham Potter impressing the ex-Red Devil, though it seems he’s unlikely to be in the conversation right now.
“A long shot could be Graham Potter. His outlook on football, the sort character he is, he’s someone who I’m sure could take on a big job,” Chadwick said.
“It’s maybe a bit early in his journey so far, he’s done well at Brighton but he’s maybe not achieved enough so far to be being talked about in the same breath as the other names mentioned.”
He added: “I think Pochettino will be the favourite.”