After a humiliating defeat away to Watford on Saturday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United parted ways with each other.
Follow Us
Saturday’s humiliating 4-1 defeat to Watford was the final nail in the coffin for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United. This result was his side’s seventh defeat in 13 games and left them in seventh place in the Premier League, 12 points behind leaders Chelsea. As a result, the Norwegian has been sacked from his position as head coach at Old Trafford, and here are the top five candidates to replace him.
The former Real Madrid manager has been out of work since the summer when he left the Spanish capital. He has been linked with a move to Old Trafford on previous occasions and boasts an impressive CV from his time in charge of Real Madrid, winning three Champions Leagues, two LaLiga Santander titles, two Supercopas de Espana, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups.
The Northern Irishman, who is currently working at Leicester City, has managed Swansea City, Liverpool and Celtic. He has won many admirers throughout his career and has guided his Leicester side to two fifth place finishes in the Premier League as well as winning the club’s first ever FA Cup.
The ex-United midfielder will take temporary charge of the side following Solskjaer’s sacking, with his first match coming on Tuesday against Villarreal in the Champions League. If Carrick is able to steady the ship and turn results around, he could well become the full-time boss.
The current Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is another potential candidate for the job, having been in charge of the Dutch giants since 2017. Ten Hag plays an attractive style of football and has won two Eredivisie and KNVB Cup doubles in his time as well as lifting the Dutch Super Cup and guiding his side to a Champions League semi-final.
French coach Laurent Blanc is also in the running and has worked with United forward Edison Cavani at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won three Ligue 1 titles in as many years. The Frenchman played at Old Trafford for two years before retiring in 2003, and is currently working as head coach at Al-Rayyan in Qatar. Blanc has also worked at Bordeaux, winning Ligue 1 in 2009, and he coached the French national side after the 2010 World Cup.
