Manchester United Manager: Top 10 Candidates Who Could Replace Solskjaer

Potential Candidates to Replace Solskjaer at Manchester United

The pressure is really starting to mount on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, especially after Liverpool’s demolition of them at Old Trafford. Manchester United are going to need a new manager.

If Manchester United do move on from Solskjaer, who can replace him? Manchester United next manager candidates! Here are the 10 best potential cadidates:

1.Antonio Conte: Mourinho Style

He is without a doubt one of the more likely candidates, as he is without a job, and has an excellent track record.

Conte turned a Chelsea side that had finished 10th the previous season into Premier League winners in his debut campaign in England in 2016/17.

The Italian is without a club having left Inter Milan in May after ending their 11-year wait to win Serie A.

Conte appears a perfect fit to solve United's defensive woes that have blighted their season. Solskjaer's men have kept one clean sheet in 21 games and shipped 11 goals in a week against Leicester, Atalanta and Liverpool.

However, Conte's fiery temperament and tendency to fall out with his superiors could count against him. His talents are undeniable, but so, too, are his volatile nature and record for conflict with his employers.

The problem? His methods are Mourinho-esque and short-term.

Antonio Conte. (Getty Images)

He is the top - Potential Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replacements!

2.Zinedine Zidane: Perfect Fit

When you look at what United need right now, Zidane seems like the perfect fit. He has experience managing superstars, playing attacking football and winning trophies.

Zidane proved himself a master of moulding a star-studded squad into a team at Madrid, where he also won two La Liga titles.

That is exactly what United need and his global profile fits the brand-building exercise the English giants have gone down in recent years, at times to the detriment of a well-functioning team on the field.

Three of Ronaldo and Varane's Champions League titles came under Zidane at Real Madrid and the Frenchman is also a free agent having ended his second spell with the Spanish giants in May. Zidane is unproven in the Premier League but his relationship with Ronaldo and Raphael Varane may help and he clearly knows how to handle big egos of star players well. Tough to judge how he will fare outside of the Real Madrid bubble.

While his coaching abilities are said to be limited, his ability to mould superstars into a winning team, and handle all the pressures that come with that job, is without question.

3.Erik ten Hag: Young Talent

The Dutchman is responsible for arguably the form team in Europe right now with Ajax cruising towards the last 16 of the Champions League and another Eredivisie title after thrashing PSV Eindhoven 5-0 on Sunday.

Ten Haag was linked with a number of top jobs after leading the four-time European champions to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 1997 two years ago.

But unlike many of his players from that run, he is yet to be poached by one of Europe's top clubs.

The former Bayern Munich youth team coach would fit the attacking style demanded of a United manager, as exhibited by a 4-0 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund last week.

If United want to nurture their incredible young talents then Erik ten Hag is the man for the job. Ten Hag is a manager who is on his way up and is still working hard to prove himself. This would be a big step up, but he is clearly a coach who improves players.

Ten Hag is a manager who is on his way up and is still working hard to prove himself. This would be a big step up, but he is clearly a coach who improves players.

4.Luis Enrique: Big Success

Luis Enrique

The Spain coach is another with plenty of experience in getting the best out of a collection of talented individuals.

He won the treble in his first season at Barcelona and added another La Liga title with a front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

He was a big success in his time in Barcelona, winning the treble in his first season, and has gone on to do likewise in charge of Spain.

His massive international profile, which has seen Spain perform well at Euros and Nations League this year, would make him an attractive recruit for the Reds.

5.Brendan Rodgers: Long-Term Plan

Previous Liverpool connections would see limited goodwill from the stands with anything less than early perfection.

The Northern Irishman's past as a Liverpool manager may rule him out for many United fans, but he has rebuilt his reputation since a rollercoaster three years at Anfield between 2012 and 2015.

Rodgers proved himself capable of handling the demands of winning every week in three years at Celtic, where he won a clean sweep of seven domestic trophies before returning to the Premier League with Leicester.

The Foxes have narrowly missed out on the Champions League for the past two seasons to Chelsea despite far inferior resources and beat the European champions to win the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history last season.

6.Mauricio Pochettino

He’s in charge at PSG, but if they have a bad run of form he could easily be fired. Pochettino is under a little pressure after some underwhelming displays with Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe up top. PSG aside, this is the man they should have brought in to replace Louis van Gaal and then Jose Mourinho.

They didn’t, for whatever reason, and will definitely regret it. Pochettino’s high-pressing style would be adored by the United faithful, and Harry Kane would love to link up with him, but a squad overhaul would be needed to play Poch’s way.

Five years on from a lunch between Sir Alex Ferguson and Mauricio Pochettino, United are still faced with many of the same questions but a smaller pool of pliable coaches to answer them.

Pochettino could transform Sancho back into a prolific wingman like Heung-Min Son and his great Spurs sides featured far more solid spines than United boast currently. He seemed happy to leave PSG in the summer, even for his increasingly unglamorous old job in north London.

7.Kieran McKenna

Northern Irish coach Kieran McKenna’s role at Manchester United is a “particular concern”.

The Times report suggests that a section of the squad has a “particular concern” over the role of Fermanagh man McKenna and has been left “uninspired” by his training sessions.

The 35-year-old is known to be highly respected amongst the club hierarchy and just earlier this month was reported to be in talks over an extension to his current contract.

McKenna, whose playing career was ended by a chronic hip injury aged just 22, was brought to Old Trafford from Tottenham in 2016 to take charge of the Under 18s, the same role he had held at Spurs.

He was promoted to the first team staff by Jose Mourinho two years later and has been kept on as first-team coach, alongside Michael Carrick, by Solskjaer.

8.Gareth Southgate

With quite a few English players in the United squad, Southgate wouldn’t have to spend long getting used to his team. And while he seems to be a very impressive man-manager, he is also extremely similar to Solskjaer. He likes to play two holding midfielders in front of a back four or five, which is a bit too defensive for the Old Trafford faithful.

Southgate has gotten his England team to a World Cup semi-final and the final of Euro 2020. With the Qatar World Cup on the horizon, he may want to give it one last go before moving back to club football.

9.Graham Potter: Not the high-profile manager

Graham Potter

Graham Potter’s name on the bookies’ longlist for Manchester United’s next manager. Potter is not the high-profile manager that sections of United’s fanbase, still scarred by the spirit sapping days of David Moyes, would crave.

Potter is undeniably one of the best coaches in the league. The way he makes his teams play football is genuinely outstanding. The concern would be how he’d deal with managing the egos and personalities that come with the United job.

After what happened under David Moyes and Solskjaer to an extent, it is unlikely that we’ll see United take a chance on another coach who wasn’t won a big trophy.

10.Roberto Martinez: Remain Lukewarm

Has experience of Premier League from time at Swansea, Wigan and Everton and has taken Belgium to No 1 in the FIFA rankings and style of play might suit but fans remain lukewarm.

Martinez also has more realistic chances of landing jobs with Newcastle or Barcelona.

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