Manchester United have been forced to put in managerial contingency plans as they look to recruit a permanent manager in time for next season.
That’s according to a recent report from ESPN, who claims the Red Devils’ hierarchy have earmarked Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti as a potential short-term solution, should they fail to land one of their permanent targets.
United are understood to be working from a five-man shortlist which includes Paris-Saint Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax’s Erik ten Hag.
MORE: Roman Abramovich edging closer to Chelsea sale as Russian tycoon’s asking price reported
However, failure to wrap up a permanent appointment could see the 20-times league winners turn their attention to Ancelotti, who joined Real Madrid last year following a short stint with Everton.
Should Man United go for Ancelotti?
United currently have former RB Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick in charge until the end of the season and he hasn’t done a bad job.
Although far from firing on all cylinders, the Red Devils are remaining competitive and frequently show glimpses of progression under the German.
Therefore, when it comes to the prospect of seeing Rangnick move upstairs into a consultancy role and another short-term fix like Ancelotti coming in, fans will likely argue it makes very little sense.
For too long the club has remained a shadow of its former self and in recent seasons it has become glaringly obvious that stability and consistency are what is needed and those will be hard to achieve with a conveyor belt of stop-gap managers.
Should the side’s decision-makers wait until a permanent successor becomes available? – Although not ideal, the answer, if the club is serious about challenging for major silverware again, is probably yes.