Manchester United are facing big questions about who will lead the team next season, writes Dean Workman.

No one quite knows where Manchester United stand at the moment. With interim manager Ralf Rangnick in charge until the end of the season, the club has some time to decide on its next manager. But the fans are getting restless for an answer the club can’t afford to get wrong again.

At the start of the 2021-22 campaign, United looked set to challenge Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool for the Premier League crown. The squad had been boosted by the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer heading into his third full season in charge.

Things, however, quickly unravelled and it became clear that change was needed after the Red Devils were thrashed 4-0 by Watford. Seemingly with no real plan, United brought in former RB Leipzig boss Rangnick as an interim manager, with the expectation of the German becoming a technical advisor at the end of the season.

This gave the club time to plot the way forward and the latest reports indicate Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag are the front runners. This is despite both men being employed by two of Europe’s biggest clubs in Paris Saint-Germain and Ajax, respectively.

Pochettino has been on United’s radar since his time at Tottenham Hotspur and has been linked with the job since Jose Mourinho’s tenure at the club. Despite the links, the Red Devils stuck with Solskjaer and the Argentinian eventually moved on to Paris Saint-Germain last season following Thomas Tuchel’s departure to Chelsea.
However, when asked about his future in Paris and the club’s reported interest in Zinedine Zidane as their next head coach, Pochettino didn’t seem too fazed. ‘I don’t know, it’s not up to me to decide. Zidane is a great coach, he already showed it at Real Madrid. He can train anywhere in the world. In addition to this, he’s French. That is one more question for the sporting director or the president,’ he told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

‘We have to concentrate and be focused on what we have now. We are responsible for doing our best and giving 100% for the club we work for.’

Pochettino would bring Premier League experience to the club and a style of play that is suited to the division, as he showed in his time at Spurs and Southampton. But, and it’s a big ‘but’, he has never lifted silverware in England despite spending nearly seven years in the country before moving to Paris.

Ten Hag offers a different prospect for United and is ready to take up the challenge of another European giant after impressing during his time at Ajax. He has won two domestic doubles in three and a half seasons at the club.

‘I think I’m ready for a move to a top foreign club,’ Ten Hag told de Volkskrant. ‘I would be happy to take up that challenge. But I’m not chasing it. If it turns out that that step does not come, I will not say that my coaching career has failed. But I think I have sufficient competencies to take on that challenge.’

Ten Hag would be a sensible appointment stylistically and follow on from Rangnick. The German has tried to instil a high ‘gegenpress’ and Ten Hag is drilled in the principles of pressing from his time at Bayern Munich. The 51-year-old has also shown his capabilities in developing young stars while at the Johan Cruyff Arena and plays possession-heavy football.

Ajax director and former Red Devil Edwin van der Sar has admitted the club is prepared for him to leave at some point. ‘If there is interest in our players or coach … we’ve all been blown away in the past. So be it, we have to make sure we’re ready by then, that the lists are filled in.’

United’s decision on who will be the next boss could ultimately boil down to which of the two are available, or who would make themselves available when the time comes. PSG’s revolving door of coaches in recent season means Pochettino has no guarantees about his future in Paris but he is having a very successful season so it seems unlikely they would want to let him go.

Ultimately, Ten Hag looks to be the guy who ticks the most boxes. However, United have not made a winning appointment since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure and this is one they simply can’t afford to get wrong.