RB Salzburg boss Marco Rose has reportedly emerged as a surprise candidate for the Manchester United managerial post ahead of the next season.
As per an exclusive report from The Sun, Manchester United have identified RB Salzburg’s Marco Rose as a potential candidate for the club’s managerial post post the ongoing season and have included him in a six-man shortlist that also comprises of the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Mauricio Pochettino.
Having sacked Jose Mourinho last month, Manchester United appointed club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the interim manager till the end of the 2018-19 campaign, announcing that a permanent appointment would be made prior to the start of the next season.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be Manchester United’s preferred option. However, the Red Devils have contingencies in place, should they fail to prize away the Argentine from the North London outfit in the summer.
To that end, the club are understood to have identified Rose as a potential target, having been impressed with his work at Salzburg. The German led the Austrian outfit to the league title in his debut season, as well as leading them to the semifinals of the UEFA Europa League, beating the likes of Lazio and Borussia Dortmund along the way.
In the ongoing term, under Rose’s tutelage, RB Salzburg are unbeaten in the Austrian top-flight and look destined for another title triumph, while they have also qualified to the Round of 32 in the Europa League, having won all six of their group games against Celtic, Rosenborg and RB Leipzig.
Till date Rose has managed 93 matches for the Austrian champions, leading them to victories in 63 of those, while losing just six times.
Along with Rose, former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is another name that has been strongly linked with the Manchester United job. The Frenchman is unattached to any club, after quitting from his post with Los Blancos at the end of the last season.
And speculations of the Frenchman taking over next season further intensified after he was spotted meeting with club ambassador Mikael Silvestre in Dubai last week.
Along with the aforementioned names, former Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc is also believed to be in consideration. The Frenchman hasn’t managed any club since being released by Paris Saint-Germain in 2016.
Hoffenheim’s highly-rated manager Julian Nagelsmann is another name that the 20-time English champions are reportedly looking at. Current interim manager Solskjaer too is believed to be in the running, after having sparked a brilliant turnaround of form in his short time at the helm of the club.
Rose has done some solid work with Salzburg over the past couple of years. The 42-year-old, who is contracted with the Austrian club till 2020, boasts a win percentage of 64.9 and looks destined to lead them to back-to-back league triumphs.
However, it is unlikely that Manchester United would be bringing in the German as their permanent manager next season. Pochettino remains their first-choice, but should they miss out on him, Zidane seems the most viable alternative for the Red Devils.
