The Athletic: Manchester United shortlist four names for permanent manager next season | OneFootball

Manchester United have reportedly shortlisted their preferred four candidates to become permanent manager next season.

According to David Ornstein (The Athletic), United have narrowed down their search to Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag, Luis Enrique and Julen Lopetegui.

The report also states that United are looking at managers with experience in managing top European clubs- something which all of these have in common.

The club will start the appointment process in the coming weeks.

Pochettino and Ten Hag have been mentioned numerous times as potential managerial candidates, however, it is the other two that are interesting picks.

Enrique is the current manager of the Spanish national team and will be looking to lead his team to glory in the Qatar FIFA World Cup.

He won the treble with Barcelona in the 2014/15 season and is one of the most successful managers working currently.

Lopetegui, on the other hand, is working wonders with Sevilla. His team are in second place, just four points behind league leaders Real Madrid. Sevilla defeated Man Utd in the 2020 Europa League semi-final and went on to win the competition.

Both Enrique and Lopetegui were linked with the position before Ralf Rangnick was appointed interim boss, prompting transfer guru Fabrizio Romano to rightly pour cold water on the rumours at the time.

All the names mentioned on United’s shortlist have a definite philosophy and preach an exciting brand of football that gets results.

However, the current United squad does not have many players suited to playing in their systems, hence a squad overhaul could be required.

It will also be interesting to see what happens with some out of favour players like Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Donny Van de Beek, who could all be part of the new manager’s plans next season.