Manchester United have decided to begin the new year with a managerial search, calling time on Ruben Amorim’s hectic 14 months at the club on Monday and immediately forcing questions about what’s next for a club desperate to return to the upper echelons of the game.
The search for Amorim’s successor is unlikely to be a quick one, sources tell CBS Sports’ James Benge, giving United’s higher-ups plenty of time to properly reset – and putting real pressure on them to get the next hire right. What exactly they are looking for in a new manager is a fascinating question, Amorim’s spell at the club providing a certain amount of information on what the club’s higher-ups likely do not want in his successor. There were concerns about his tactical rigidity and towards the end, there appeared to be a genuine disagreement between Amorim and the club’s leaders about United’s commitment to his vision – a battle clubs win more often than managers do these days.
As things stand, the Red Devils have plenty of options to choose from, each of them checking off different boxes as yet another high-profile managerial search gets underway.
Oliver Glasner (+400)
The oddsmakers’ favorite is Oliver Glasner, who has slowly emerged as the next big managerial thing during his time at Crystal Palace. Just under two years since his hire, Glasner has taken Palace from their status as a nondescript mid-table Premier League club to one of the top flight’s most fascinating teams, highlighted by their FA Cup triumph last spring. Glasner seems to know his stock is rising and is reportedly unwilling to sign a new deal at Palace, according to Fabrizio Romano, potentially paving the way for him to find a new job in time for next season. As long as Palace maintain their strong form, though, United may just be one of several clubs courting Glasner’s signature.
Darren Fletcher (+500)
No matter the specifics of any given managerial search, there is almost always an internal hire whose name is in the running and this time around, that distinction belongs to Darren Fletcher. If Amorim was young and inexperienced, though, Fletcher is even more so – his only coaching experience is in United’s academy, so it is unclear how ready he would be to take over the reins of the senior team. Considering United are in no rush to find Amorim’s full-time replacement, Fletcher may have five months as the interim to prove his worth and earn a promotion to the big leagues.
Enzo Maresca (+700)
Just days removed from his sudden Chelsea exit, Enzo Maresca may just be the most talented available manager on the market and his title-winning spell with the Blues is obviously a plus for a team desperate to return to their glory days. If a power struggle between the manager and the higher-ups accelerated Amorim’s departure, though, Maresca’s problems of a similar nature at Chelsea might take him out of the running at Old Trafford. Plus, he may have a job at the other Manchester club in mind – if it ever frees up.
Xavi (+1000)
The ex-Barcelona boss keeps finding himself on lists to succeed Amorim, perhaps because hindsight offers a more favorable look at his time at the Catalan club. The Barcelona faithful may have been underwhelmed while he was at the helm but Xavi managed to win a La Liga title with a bare bones version of the team, allowing several academy products to earn minutes while the club’s finances wreaked havoc on any squad-building operation. Xavi has not taken up a managerial post since his Barcelona ouster in 2024, making it unclear if he wants to return to coaching at all or what type of team he would return to the touchline for.
Gareth Southgate (+1000)
England’s longtime manager is in the midst of a well-earned break a year and change after his departure from the national team, during which his stock skyrocketed. Gareth Southgate’s coaching résumé was insignificant before he took the England job and it is hard to blame anyone for being curious about what his return to the club game would look like but like Xavi, it is unclear what type of job he would return to management for.
One of the World Cup coaches
If United wait until the summer to select Amorim’s replacement, they may just have a truly wide variety of managers to choose from. A batch of talented managers who made a name for themselves at the club level are currently bound for the World Cup with different national teams, many of them theoretically free once the tournament is complete. Carol Ancelotti may already be looking to extend his stay with Brazil, according to The Athletic, but the U.S.’ Mauricio Pochettino, England’s Thomas Tuchel and Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann could be available and may be looking for positions at club teams. Pochettino in particular has already come out and said he would be interested in a Premier League return one day, though there is still a lot of time on the clock between now and the end of the World Cup.
