The trigger has finally been pulled on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time with Manchester United and the fans and the team have had to say goodbye to the beloved manager. However, no one can really say they were surprised about the firing of Ole. After a string of losses, a severe lack of silver through his time with the team, whispers of unsettlement amongst the higher ups, and crucially, a 4-1 defeat at Watford, it seemed like the clock had run out on Ole’s time with one of the biggest teams in the country.
In the meantime, Ralf Rangnick has been appointed interim manager at Man Utd, but fans are left with a new question: who will take his place. Betting shops like Mr Green Casino are taking bets not only on the outcome of games, but now which lucky son of a gun will get to lead the legendary team to victory. Plus, there are plenty of opinions on who should, and they don’t always correlate.
Well, we’re here to break it down.
Read on for all the details on the managers queuing up to lead Man U to a Premier League trophy.
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane has so far been a favourite contender amongst fans and higher ups, as reports say he was approached for the manager position at Man U just a few days after the sacking of Ole.
And why wouldn’t they? He has won three consecutive Champions League titles with Real since 2016, won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup in 2020. Plus, he is a legendary player in his own right, famously named one of the FIFA 100 greatest living players and has won a World Cup with France.
But apparently, he isn’t interested. It was recently reported that he has turned down the offer by Man U officials to manage the team. He has just left Real Madrid, after all. Is he burnt out? Or looking for something better? There are whispers that he is looking to Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
Brendan Rodgers
There are people speculating that former Reading player and career manager Brendan Rodgers could be approached for the job of Man U’s manager. The Irishman has a long history of leading British teams to victory with his claim staked on Chelsea, Watford, Reading, Swansea City, Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester City. Amongst those is a list of managerial achievements like Scottish Premiership wins, Scottish Cup wins and FA Cup wins.
That is a full-bodied CV that would only be improved only by a crowning jewel, like, say, a stint at Old Trafford.
Plus, it seems he is close with current interim manager Ralf Rangnick, whom he gave an interesting phone call to after the latter accepted his position. Is there a favour going to be exchanged there? Considering Rangnick is going to be staying on for two years in a consulting role, there is a chance for a dream team up available.
And for his part, Rodgers hasn’t ruled out the idea.
Gareth Southgate
Yes, the famed well-dressed England manager is whispered to be a good fit for Manchester United, with even the higher ups thinking so. And that’s easy to understand. He is doing reasonably well as England manager, despite a disappointing result in the UEFA Euro 2020, with a string of other impressive results throughout his time with England.
It seems only natural that an England manager would then head to Man United. However, there is a hiccup. Southgate has just signed a new contract with the England team that isn’t set to end until December 2024.
Well, Ole’s contract wasn’t set to end in November 2021. Things change. Would it be enough to pull Southgate away from England?