'Imminent' Amorim sack sees Zidane among nine managers tipped to take over

Dyche and Southgate have both been tipped for the United job if Amorim leaves.

Ruben Amorim looks to be close to getting the bill at the last chance saloon as Manchester United’s poor form continues into the new season.

A penalty shootout loss to League Two Grimsby Town represented a new low for the once dominant champions of England and a forlorn Amorim looked as if he may well be preparing for life after United. His sacking is supposedly ‘imminent’.

With the Old Trafford side being one of the biggest in the world, speculation has of course been rife over which manager wants to ruin their career by moving to United. Here are nine runners and riders.

9. Jurgen Klopp

Before Liverpool fans get their pitchforks out for us, this suggestion came at the hands of Martin Keown.

Back in June, the former Arsenal defender reckoned United should go for Klopp as “they could do a lot worse.”

“The number of games they’ve lost, I’m still concerned that this is maybe not the right manager for Manchester United,” Keown said on talkSPORT.

“It’s going to be a very interesting start to the season, they could do a lot worse than to go and get Jurgen Klopp to manage their football club.

“I’m not trying to sensationalise, I believe he might do an incredible job there. They need somebody with more experience than the current manager.”

Klopp may well do an “incredible job” but the chances of him accepting it and in one quick signature destroying nine years of relationship with the Anfield faithful seem almost zero, not to mention the fact he has repeatedly hinted he is done in management.

Nice try Martin.

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8. Sean Dyche

Almost as ridiculous as the Klopp suggestion is Charlie Austin proposing Mr Utter Woke Nonsense Sean Dyche should be the next man in the United hot seat.

Austin was on Sky Sports when he was asked whether Zinedine Zidane was the right man for the job but forget the multiple Champions League titles, Austin reckons United need some “structure” and that they should look at the jobs Dyche did at Everton and Burnley.

Bearing in mind that United is a publicly-traded company, we can only imagine the poor staff member who has to tell their shareholders that the man to save the club from a decade of turmoil is Dyche.

7. Marco Silva

Getting onto the somewhat more believable now and Marco Silva is a name being linked with the job.

Fresh from getting a 1-1 draw against United, some bookies have the current Fulham boss at third favourite in the odds list and the Portuguese manager is reportedly a bit frustrated by the lack of transfer business from the London club.

Would he be the exciting signing that United fans would hope for? Probably not but he is an experienced manager for a 48-year-old and has shown how to change styles depending on the circumstances.

6. Michael Carrick

Carrick spent three seasons at Middlesbrough but only managed to reach the play-offs once having inherited Chris Wilder’s squad.

And rather than improve year on year, Carrick’s win rate came down and he was given the sack in the summer having taken Boro to 10th.

He’s on the lookout for his next job but if United get rid of Amorim without having a successor lined up, Carrick could be drafted in on an interim boss basis.

5. Kieran McKenna

As a former member of both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff, it does feel that McKenna’s return to United is a matter of when not if.

He has done excellent work at Ipswich, guiding the Suffolk side to back-to-back promotions which, if sources are to be believed, had him in the frame for the Chelsea and Brighton jobs last summer before he put speculation to bed by signing new deal at Portman Road.

Ipswich’s slump out of the Premier League saw his stock drop, making a move to United at this stage seem unlikely, but should he guide them back to the top flight, United may make a move next summer.

It will be a risk though as Ipswich remains his only managerial experience and coaching United is a far greater challenge.

4. Zinedine Zidane

Four years since his last job, it does feel a bit like Zidane is the typical movie baddie that you are just waiting to appear at some point.

Lurking in the shadows, the Frenchman has been linked with a lot of top jobs but has so far kept his powder dry since his second stint at Madrid.

By all accounts, he is waiting for the France job but Manchester United may be one of few clubs that could convince him otherwise.

As to how well he would do there, that is another question. Zidane’s strength at Madrid was undoubtedly being able to take a group of huge egos and allow them to play with freedom and while United’s players may have similar sized egos, they don’t have a front line of Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo.

Given who he is, you’d think he’d have the respect of the dressing room but we all know that does not last long.

3. Andoni Iraola

According to some sources, the INEOS hivemind have identified Bournemouth’s Iraola as one of the ideal replacements for Amorim should the Portuguese depart.

It’s easy to see why. After a slow start, the Spaniard has guided Bournemouth to midtable in the Premier League, even after they seem to lose their best players every year.

His stock is incredibly high at the moment and Sir Jim and co. may be tempted to bring him to Old Trafford.

2. Oliver Glasner

Another name on INEOS’ shortlist is Oliver Glasner who looks to be growing incredibly frustrated with the situation at Palace.

Comparatively little money spent and big names like Eze and Guehi either gone or going has left the FA Cup winning manager questioning whether he fancies sticking around.

That question would be put into sharp focus should United come calling and Palace have already rejected interest from Bayern last summer.

The Austrian’s contract at Palace is crucially up next summer so a compensation fee would not be too expensive for United.

1. Gareth Southgate

Southgate’s position at number one on this list should come as little surprise because by all accounts, he was close to getting the job last summer.

Sir Jim is said to be a big fan of the man who resuscitated the England national team but Southgate felt he needed a break having overseen arguably the only tougher job in the country than the United gig.

12 months on though and United are once again interested in the former Boro boss. The positives are he has experience of exorcising a toxic environment and is also not likely to clash with his bosses too much.

Negatives would be that he always ultimately fell short with England and it could cause backlash amongst the United fans who would see it as an uninspiring choice.

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