The Football world has been in a little bit of a frenzy with Jose Mourinho getting the sack at Manchester United. Manchester United has had a disappointing start to the Season and are currently at 6th place, 19 points behind first placed Liverpool.
Mourinho's sack comes after an embarrassing 3-1 loss to arch-rivals Liverpool and expectedly Ed Woodward, and the Manchester United board have called for Change. Jose Mourinho is a dynamic manager and took a big blow to his ego the last time he was sacked at Chelsea. He seemed to carry a sense of negativity since then, and it would be interesting to see who replaces him at Old Trafford.
With Michael Carrick, all set to fill the role in the interim and United Fiercely looking for a permanent replacement it only seems ideal to discuss the candidates likely to replace Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. So without further ado, here are 5 Managers in no particular order that are likely to replace Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.
#1 Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte is one of the few Managers on this list who is a proven World Class Manager, has experience in the Premier League and is available at the moment.
To go with all this, he's gotten the best out of Paul Pogba during his three-year stint at Juventus, tempting eh United fans? Conte was brilliant during his first Season with Chelsea breezing to the Premier League title and was pretty decent in his second Season considering he was given limited resources in the Transfer market and didn't have the board backing him up, he eventually ended up with a 5th place finish and the FA Cup.
Conte could really help the team's defensive shape that seemed to suffer under Jose Mourinho and rumor has it that the Italian was keen on bringing Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to Stamford Bridge during his time at Chelsea. Conte doesn't seem like an ideal fit with his defensive style but could be a really good fit for Manchester United.
#2 Laurent Blanc
Former Manchester United Player, World Cup Winner as a player and a Serial Winner as a manager in France. Laurent Blanc may just be the Manager Manchester United need.
Laurent Blanc has been successful in the Ligue 1 with Bordeaux and Paris St. Germain and has won a total 4 Ligue 1 Titles including one with Bordeaux in the 2008-09 Season. Blanc has also won the Premier League as a player at Manchester United in the 2002-03 Season, so he knows what it takes to win a Premier League title.
Blanc hasn't been in management since June 2016 which could prove as both a boon and a bane for his potential employers, either he'll be out of practice or he'll be fresh and raring to go. Blanc is certainly a very viable candidate for Ed Woodward and the United board to ponder on.
#3 Michael Carrick
A formula that's increasingly effective in the current scenario, sign a club legend as your assistant Manager, sack the underperforming manager and appoint the assistant. Worked at Real Madrid twice.
Michael Carrick has been at the Club since 2006 and has seen some glorious days and has witnessed the failures first-hand as well. Carrick has been Club Captain, was an extremely hard-working Midfielder and is a proven leader.
His managerial credentials though can be questioned but given the situation at Manchester United right now, they need some calmness and need a Manager to put Jose Mourinho's negativity behind them. Carrick is filling in at the moment but could be a serious contender in the future, provided he can get results quickly. The former England onternational already has a working rapport and a healthy relationship with all the players, which could prove crucial in this damage control phase.
#4 Mauricio Pochettino
It's unlikely, but Gary Neville says he's a perfect fit. The Old Trafford job is very alluring and could tempt any able manager to take up the challenge.
Mauricio Pochettino is United's best case scenario but having developed such an interesting project at Spurs it is unlikely that he would sign for United but it's football, isn't it? Anything can happen.
Pochettino is a masterful tactician, he brings the team together as a unit, develops young players the right way and strikes the balance between an organized defence and a lethal attack.
Pochettino has all the tools to make it big in the Premier League and many have argued that he hasn't been given the resources financially to thrive as a manager. At Manchester United, he will have a huge budget at his disposal and can potentially win a lot of trophies. But then again this is all hypothetical.
#5 Zinedine Zidane
This one is no surprise, and Manchester United will go all out in their pursuit to bring Zidane to Manchester United. Zizou has been linked with Manchester United for quite some time now, and with Mourinho out of the picture, things have gotten interesting for the former Real Madrid manager.
Zidane is a three-time Champions League winner and is just the kind of big name Manager that can and should take over the reins of a big club like Manchester United. On paper, it all fits and seems perfect but getting Zidane to Manchester will not be an easy task especially considering the Frenchman and his agent have point-blank denied any possibility of signing for the Red-Devils in the past.
Zidane may want to continue enjoying his year-off from management or he may rush back to action. Aside from the man himself, no one can say for sure.