Next Man Utd manager: Gareth Southgate, Simone Inzaghi, Zinedine Zidane & the best Erik ten Hag replacements – ranked

The mere fact that some supporters were pining for the return of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer long before Ten Hag’s dismissal showed just how bad things had gotten under the former Ajax boss. United did play some fine counter-attacking football with the Norwegian at the wheel, but it was clear long before the end of his tenure that he was not the man to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford – despite his incessant talk of the treble of 1999.

Solskjaer was little more than a lame Sir Alex Ferguson tribute act and it’s telling that he’s not been picked up by a single club since being sacked by United all the way back in 2021. Obviously, this would be an appealingly cheap option for a club that now has to pay its outgoing manager a serious severance package, but this would be a backward step in every way. Even Solskjaer’s supporters would struggle to justify his appointment.

There are few coaches on the market right now with a CV as impressive as that of Massimiliano Allegri, who parted company with Juventus at the end of last season. The Italian has won six Serie A titles, including five in a row during his first spell in Turin, while he also reached the Champions League final with the Bianconeri on two separate occasions.

However, Allegri is a very strong character with a win-at-all-costs mentality that might provoke unhappy memories of Jose Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford. Allegri will always argue that the end justifies the means, and, in his defence, he did manage to get Juve back into the Champions League last season in difficult circumstances, while also winning the Coppa Italia.

However, an awful lot of Juve fans were happy to see the back of Allegri and his outdated and painfully boring brand of football. He might well be capable of sorting out some of United’s many problems, but they might not be any better to watch!

Van Nistelrooy has plenty going for him right now. He unquestionably lacks experience but did a decent job at PSV before standing down after one season in Eindhoven, citing a lack of support – which wouldn’t be an issue at Old Trafford, where he’s a hugely popular figure dating back to his playing days. There’s also an undeniable feeling that he’s in the right place at the right time.

It certainly wasn’t a surprise to see United immediately name Ten Hag’s No.2 as the new caretaker coach and if his reign starts well, there will be a groundswell of support for him in the media to take over on a permanent basis, in much the same way that Rio Ferdinand foolishly championed hiring Solskjaer after a purple patch.

There are better managers than Van Nistelrooy available, but he’s another low-cost option that could really appeal to the owners.

An obligatory mention for one of the Premier League’s over-achievers, with Thomas Frank still doing a fine job at Brentford on a relatively small budget. The likeable Dane has been at the helm for nearly six years now and has been repeatedly linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent seasons.

However, it’s hard not to suspect that if that move were going to happen, United would have made it during the summer. Frank is quite clearly a fine coach but it doesn’t seem he has the proven track record of success or star appeal that INEOS are looking for in a new boss. After all, he’s yet to win a major honour.

Barcelona may be flying under new boss Hansi Flick, but that doesn’t change the fact that the German’s predecessor, Xavi, was treated disgracefully by club president Joan Laporta, who talked him out of resigning only to then sack him in the most disrespectful fashion possible just before the end of last season.

Even just as one of the greatest players ever to play for the Catalans, Xavi deserved so much better than that – but it’s also worth remembering that he’d won the Spanish title as Barca boss the year before.

Would the legendary midfielder be a good fit for United, though? Probably not, given his style is a little pragmatic. It’s also worth remembering that he really felt the strain of managing Barca; even accounting for his ties to the Catalans, it’s not as if he’d be under much less pressure at United.

It probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, then, to learn that Xavi is enjoying his time off and is expected to take a year-long sabbatical from the game before returning to work.

Graham Potter has been out of work since being unceremoniously sacked by Chelsea just seven months after signing a five-year contract with the club, though he has received several intriguing offers, the most recent of which came from Ajax.

There were conflicting reports over precisely why Potter turned down the Amsterdam outfit, but it’s clear that the Englishman is waiting for the right job at the right time. Would United fit the bill? You’d have to imagine so. It remains one of the most prestigious positions in world football and the word is that Potter was considered as a Ten Hag alternative during the summer. He also impressed several watching United fans with his tactical analysis during a recent appearance on Sky Sports’ ‘Monday Night Football’.

However, after struggling to impose himself amid the constant chaos at Stamford Bridge, would he fare any better at the pressure-cooker that is Old Trafford?

An appointment that appears to make quite a bit of sense. Gareth Southgate has admitted that he’d like his next job to be in club football after eight years in the international game, during which he led England to two European Championship finals.

Of course, some United fans have some serious and legitimate concerns over Southgate’s conservative tactics, which saw him accused of failing to get the very best out of a group of top young attacking talents. However, he is a very popular figure and undeniably did a great job restoring pride in the Three Lions.

Old Trafford would certainly benefit from the positive energy Southgate’s arrival would generate right now, as he has many loyal supporters in the English press, but he stated only last month that he has no intention of returning to work until next year.

If United are looking for a manager that would excite the supporters and immediately command the respect of the dressing room, then they need look no further than Zinedine Zidane. Every player on the planet reveres the Frenchman, one of the finest footballers the game has ever seen and a three-time Champions League-winning coach.

However, Zidane has been out of the game since stepping down as Real Madrid coach (for a second time) in 2021 and it is thought that he is waiting for the France job, with Didier Deschamps still under pressure after an uninspiring Euro 2024 campaign.

After leading Ipswich Town into the Premier League after back-to-back promotions, Kieran McKenna was understandably a man in demand during the summer, with Chelsea and Brighton both keen on hiring the 38-year-old, who eventually signed a lucrative new contract at Portman Road that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in England.

However, it was claimed that McKenna had been waiting to see if United got rid of Ten Hag, as he was reportedly keen on returning to Old Trafford, where he had previously worked under Jose Mourinho, Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

McKenna’s also a boyhood fan of the club and the Northern Irishman would be a popular choice among supporters who’ve been following his exploits at Ipswich closely over the past few years. If INEOS are looking to start over, with a new, long-term project guided by a promising young coach that knows the club, then McKenna is probably the man. The size of the compensation package might be an issue, though, as his new, £6 million-a-year deal runs until 2028…

Every time a top Premier League job becomes available, Ruben Amorim’s name pops up – and it’s easy to understand why.

When the 39-year-old took over Sporting CP in 2020, the club was in total disarray and they’d not won a Portuguese title for two decades. They’re now seeking a third in five seasons, with Amorim’s side currently top of the Primeira Liga with a flawless record of nine wins from nine games. They’ve also taken seven points from their first three games in this season’s Champions League.

The one problem from Manchester United’s perspective? Manchester City. United’s rivals have just lined up Sporting’s Hugo Viana to take over as director of football at the end of the season and the word is that Amorim will join him at the Etihad next summer.

After doing a fine job with few resources at Lazio, Simone Inzaghi has turned Inter into one of the top teams in Europe. Had it not been for Romelu Lukaku’s dreadful finishing, in fact, the Nerazzurri may well have ended up beating Manchester City in the 2023 Champions League final.

The Italian champions’ domestic form has been a little patchy this term, but their coach once again showed with a scoreless draw at the Etihad last month that he is more than capable of causing problems for Pep Guardiola.

All things considered, Inzaghi is probably the outstanding candidate for the United job – he’s a modern, versatile and successful coach that can not only organise a team but get them playing exciting, attacking football – but it is worth noting that he extended his Inter contract until 2026 during the summer.

GOAL