Who could Manchester United replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with?

By Tom Masters

Manchester United have come under increasing pressure from their supporters to remove Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from his role as United boss following a disappointing run of results.

United suffered back-to-back home losses against rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, losing those games 5-0 and 2-0 at Old Trafford, whilst the 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur seems to have been yet another false dawn under the Norwegian manager.

With Antonio Conté taken by Tottenham last week, their options have dwindled, but there are still several managers that the United fans could see appointed should Solskjaer get the sack in the coming weeks.

We look at three likely candidates that might take over from the Norwegian forward.

Brendan Rogers

Rogers has worked wonders at Leicester City, transforming them back to being a top side competing for the top four spots as well as triumphing in the FA Cup last year.

One thing that Rogers does not have on his CV is a league title success in England or any real European pedigree, but he always seems to strike an excellent relationship with his playing squad, whilst he has managed to keep all of the talent at Leicester that may have otherwise left.

With back-to-back fifth place finishes and an FA Cup he certainly emerges as a front runner, although he does have problems of his own.

As he is still at a club, United would have to lure him away from Leicester and also pay the compensation for taking him midway through his contract.

He also has one major red flag on his CV from a United perspective: he formerly managed Liverpool.

Erik Ten Hag

Ten Haag is a manager that was at the front of every job queue in world football a few years ago.

After leading Ajax to the brink of a Champions League final, many of his incredibly talented squad left to join various European giants and results in Europe at least did not match the same standards.

But Ten Hag is still a quality manager and is someone that would demand instant respect in the dressing room, something which it appears Solskjaer is not.

He also does have success in both Europe and domestically, winning two Eredivisie titles in the Dutch capital.

In the Champions League, Ten Hag saw Ajax dismantle Real Madrid over two legs and lead 3-0 against Tottenham Hotspur before Lucas Moura’s hat-trick saw them knocked out on away goals.

Zinedine Zidane

By far the standout candidate if United can secure his services.

Zidane would command the immediate respect of his squad and would not be afraid to drop or even sell players who he does not get on with.

After his immense playing success, the Frenchman took Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in a row, whilst also succeeding immensely domestically.

Aside from that, Zidane has worked successfully with Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the past, two of Manchester United’s most recent signings who Solskjaer has not managed to quite get firing.

If Solskjaer was to receive the sack, United would have to act swiftly to bring in the former Real Madrid legend, in what would surely be a successful appointment.

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