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Top 5 Coaching Candidates for Manchester United

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce / Contributor

Published Nov 8, 2021

The Manchester Derby didn’t go according to plan for Manchester United or Ole Gunnar Solskjær, but the good news for the Red Devils manager is that his job appears to be safe; at least for now.

Supporters have been clamoring for the former Norway international to be relieved of his duties, however, the United board doesn’t appear to share the same opinion. Or at least, not at this current time.

Solskjær, now in his fourth season as manager, is running on borrowed time, especially given Man United’s recent form.

Defeats to Man City, Liverpool and Leicester City have all put a huge damper on the Red Devils’ recent endeavors, putting Untied nine points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and it’s only early November.

Normally, the international break would be the ideal time to make a managerial switch, but it appears United has its own agenda in mind and they aren’t budging from it at this given time despite links to Brendan Rodgers, Zinedine Zidane and previously Antonio Conte -- before he accepted the Tottenham gig.

It’s still feasible to think that OGS won’t be the long-term solution at Old Trafford, so ONE37pm is taking a look at five top candidates that United could replace Solskjær with in the future.

Zinedine Zidane

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Current Club: Free Agent

The Frenchman would likely be atop many club’s wishlists, and with Zidane hanging back and waiting for his next gig it’s more of a “when” than “if” he coaches again.

There’s been heavy links between Zidane and high-profile gigs in France, including his native country’s national team job, but a reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo would be quite enticing as well.

The pair won several Champions League titles together at Real Madrid, and there’s no doubting this United team’s talent, which includes Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.

Brendan Rodgers

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Current Job: Leicester City

Rodgers isn’t a sexy pick from the group of managers on this list, but he commands the respect of a dressing room and knows English football as well as most managers.

Unfortunately for Rodgers, his record in the Premier League isn’t the greatest, only winning roughly 50 percent of his matches at both Leicester and Liverpool after struggling with Watford, Reading and Swansea City.

Mauricio Pochettino

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Current Job: Paris Saint-Germain

Pochettino appears to be heavily in the mix for United if he were to leave PSG this season, and going from coaching Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo would be quite the storyline.

Pochettino’s time in England had its share of ups and downs at Tottenham, but ultimately he got the most out of his Spurs squad, even reaching a Champions League final during his tenure.

PSG’s next few months of fixtures could dictate if the club moves on to yet another manager, which would given Pochettino the chance to move back to England.

Erik Ten Hag

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Current Job: Ajax

As i’ve stated in the past few months, Ajax is one of the most exciting clubs to watch in European football this season and it’s directly due to the style that Erik Ten Hag wants to play.

Ajax have lost just once this season in all competitions, including boasting a perfect Champions League record through four matches.

Ten Hag would need to adapt to life outside of the Eredivisie, but the former Twente defender appears poised for a bigger gig in the near future.

Julian Nagelsmann

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Current Job: Bayern Munich

The chances of Nagelsmann leaving Bayern at this stage are pretty slim, but that doesn’t mean the German manager isn’t qualified.

And if one thing has rung true recently in the Premier League it’s that German managers are very capable of not only succeeding, but winning major trophies.

Look at Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool as the two biggest examples.

Nagelsmann is young and has a lot of vision when it comes to how he wants his sides to play stylistically, and would certainly demand that United’s players conform to his identity.