Ranking the 15 favourites to become Manchester United's new manager | OneFootball

It has been an absolutely woeful start to the season for Manchester United and their last two fixtures have perfectly encapsulated the club's terrible form of late. First, the Red Devils were humbled 3-0 at home by rivals Manchester City in the Premier League. Just days later, they were beaten at Old Trafford once again by the exact same scoreline, losing this time to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup.

Last season, United actually won that competition but their unceremonious exit from the tournament at the round of 16 just sums up how things have gone for Erik ten Hag in his second campaign with the club. Consequently, there is now plenty of talk in the media to suggest that the Dutchman could soon be on his way out of the club.

Amid Man Utd's struggles, we here at GIVEMESPORT have decided it would be a good time to rank the managerial options United have to potentially hire to replace Ten Hag. Using Tiermaker, and looking at recent odds, we've ranked option for the manager job into one of five categories ranging from 'Dream Option' to 'Terrible Idea'. View our rankings below...

Dream Option

Zinedine Zidane, Roberto De Zerbi

Zinedine Zidane is quite possibly the best unemployed manager in football right now. In two spells at Real Madrid, he won La Liga twice, the Champions League three times, Supercopa de Espana twice, the Super Cup twice and the Club World Cup twice. With that under his belt, and his remarkable playing career to consider as well, the Frenchman would arrive in Manchester and immediately command the respect of every player in the dressing room.

Zidane's steely but understated personality also suggests he has the ability to handle the pressures and expectations of being in charge of such a big club. He certainly never looked overwhelmed during his time in Madrid as a player or manager. United have one other dream option to consider, though, if they want to go down a different route.

Roberto De Zerbi might not have the same success to fall back on as Zidane, but he does have proven experience within England. After all, since taking charge of Brighton the Italian has been a breath of fresh air in the Premier League. His teams play with such a clear identity, that he could finally give United fans a team to get behind and believe in on match days.

Strong contender

Diego Simeone, Carlo Ancelotti, Julian Nagelsmann

If the Red Devils are looking for a big personality then they should look no further than Diego Simeone. The Atletico Madrid manager is more than happy with the spotlight being firmly fixed upon him. Having won La Liga and the Europa League twice, as well as making the Champions League final on two occasions, he certainly has the calibre to come in and impress as well.

Carlo Ancelotti has a pretty good understanding of English football after spells at Chelsea and then Everton, and his success at numerous other clubs across Europe makes him one of the greatest managers of the modern era. His man-management style would help bring some much-needed confidence to the United squad. Julian Nagelsmann is another good shout for the job. His time at Bayern Munich came to an unexpected and fairly harsh end, but the German remains one of the most talented young managers in the game. It would be fascinating to see how he would get on with this Man United team as his canvas.

Exciting but Risky

Graham Potter, Hansi Flick, Xabi Alonso, Kieran McKenna

Talking of talented young managers, Xabi Alonso has been making a real name for himself in Germany of late with his Bayer Leverkusen side currently top of the Bundesliga table. Like the Spaniard, Kieran McKenna is also impressing many right now in his first stint as a head coach. The former Man Utd assistant has Ipswich Town second in the Championship, having led them to promotion from League One last term. However, both men are relatively new to the world of senior management and it would be a big risk to hand them such a huge job so early on in their careers.

It shouldn't be forgotten that Graham Potter was viewed as the next big thing in English management not that long ago, but a difficult spell at Chelsea has seen his reputation plummet. Still, you don't go from the

fourth tier of Swedish football with Östersund all the way to Stamford Bridge in the space of 11 years (via Swansea City and then Brighton) without being extremely talented and the 48-year-old would be desperate to prove his doubters wrong if he was handed the reins at Old Trafford.

Hansi Flick is another notable name in football management currently out of work. The now ex-Germany head coach failed to impress on the international scene, leaving understandable question marks over his quality. However, he won the treble with Bayern Munich before that, so it would be unwise to rule him out of the running for the Man Utd job completely.

Uninspired

Michael Carrick, Julen Lopetegui, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Michael Carrick can perhaps feel a little unlucky not to be in the their category above but with Middlesbrough mid-table in the Championship right now, it feels a little too early to quite moot him for a return to Old Trafford in the hot seat just yet. His time on the coaching staff and then as caretaker manager could make him an appealing option but it feels as though the timing isn't quite right for this move just yet.

Julen Lopetegui did a fine job at Wolves before quitting on the dawn of the new season, and having coached Spain and Real Madrid he has a good pedigree but this appointment would hardly get fans excited. There's nothing in his career that suggests he'd be able to succeed when so many others have failed post-Sir Alex Ferguson. As for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, we don't need to into much detail as to why that would feel like a step backwards.

Terrible Idea

Antonio Conte, Gareth Southgate, Frank Lampard

Somehow, Frank Lampard has been given the opportunity to manage Chelsea twice despite doing nothing in his post-playing career to suggest he'd be capable of having a job of that size. His connections are so good within the English game, it wouldn't be a shock if he managed to get himself an interview for the United job somewhere down the line but they should avoid him at all costs.

You get the feeling that Gareth Southgate's time as England manager is coming to an end, so he could soon be in contention for this position at Old Trafford. He's done a pretty admirable job with the Three Lions but still divides opinion massively. With that in mind – as well as his lack of top-level experience as a club manager – it would be best to avoid hiring such a contentious name. Finally, we have Antonio Conte. This would essentially be like hiring another Jose Mourinho. Man United fans only need to ask Tottenham fans how that worked out... The Italian is one more name to steer clear of.