Five managers who could replace under-fire Solskjaer at Man Utd including Pochettino and ex-Liverpool rival Rodgers
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER is fighting to keep his job. The Manchester United boss has not masterminded an away Premier League victory since February and the pressure is mounting. Yesterday’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle was the latest poor performance from the Red Devils and now the Norwegian is 4-1 to be the next top-flight manager sacked. […]
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER is fighting to keep his job.
The Manchester United boss has not masterminded an away Premier League victory since February and the pressure is mounting.
Yesterday’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle was the latest poor performance from the Red Devils and now the Norwegian is 4-1 to be the next top-flight manager sacked.
And with him 1-2 to go before the end of the season, SunSport assesses the potential candidates to replace Ole at the wheel with odds from Ladbrokes.
Mauricio Pochettino – 3-1
Until a few weeks ago, most at Manchester United would want Pochettino to replace Solskjaer should the Norwegian be given the boot.
The Spurs boss has proved he is a quality manager during his time in England, getting his side to the Champions League final last year.
He remains the favourite but the 7-2 humiliation against Bayern Munich, the 3-0 defeat to Brighton and players wanting to leave are not doing the Argentine any favours if he wants to land a bigger job in the future, with his own sack odds tumbling.
Brendan Rodgers – 9-2
The Leicester boss returned to the Premier League this year – and the ambitious Northern Irishman has plans to win it.
He went so very close with United’s rivals Liverpool in 2014 before dominating Scotland with Celtic.
It would take a big offer to lure Rodgers away from the project he is building at the King Power but at this rate United may well give in and pay whatever it takes for an experienced but ambitious manager.
Massimiliano Allegri – 6-1
The Italian left Juventus at the end of last summer with a brilliant record.
In his five seasons with the Old Lady, he won five Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia four times, the Supercoppa Italiana twice and reached two Champions League finals. Oh how United would love to return to the glory days.
Now free and available, Allegri is currently enjoying a sabbatical and, as revealed by SunSport, he wants to wait until the summer before potentially taking on the challenge of rebuilding the Red Devils.
Arsene Wenger – 16-1
That’s right, he’s 16-1 to be the next permanent Manchester United manager.
Wenger has been out of management since leaving Arsenal at the end of the 2017/18 season following 22 years in North London.
If he is going to return to football, it is expected to be in administrative role such as with Fifa but he insists there is still a desire for coaching, but whether he would do it at the team he spent many years rivalling at the top of the English game remains another question.
Gareth Southgate – 20-1
Southgate’s credentials went through the roof as he led England to the World Cup semi-finals last year.
He then got the Three Lions to the same stage of the inaugural Nations League, with a determination to give youth a chance and rewarding players for their fine form, rather than just sticking with the established senior internationals.
But his club record is still unproven – with his only post a three-year stint at Middlesbrough, where he won just shy of 30 per cent of his games in charge.
Other possible candidates
Some of the other big names on Ladbrokes’ shortlist include 8-1 pair Laurent Blanc and Erik ten Hag.
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo and Eddie Howe of Bournemouth are both 20-1, as are Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel at Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain respectively.
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Best of the rest
Naturally, there are a few ridiculous outside bets that punters wanting to give away their money can back.
They include rival bosses Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp both being 100-1 to replace Solskjaer.
The Chosen One David Moyes did not even last a season at Old Trafford but is 200-1, as is executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward with Chelsea legend John Terry as well as former sprint king and United fan Usain Bolt 500-1.
