Manchester United have reportedly set their sights on Carlo Ancelotti as a fallback option if they fail to appoint top managerial targets.
Manchester United are bracing themselves for a big summer, with the appointment of a new permanent manager at the helm their primary focus. Current boss Ralf Rangnick will step down from his interim role and continue working behind the scenes as the search begins for a new tactician for the long term.
During a recent fans forum, the club’s football director John Murtough commented, “We are now conducting a thorough process for the appointment of a new permanent manager who will take charge this summer, with the objective to get us back to challenging for those domestic and European titles.”
The objective is to appoint someone who could steady the ship and succeed in the long term. The biggest problem that Rangnick and his predecessor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, had to face was managing the big-name stars in the squad. Mauricio Pochettino’s name has been constantly linked with the Red Devils, although signing the ex-Tottenham boss could be tricky.
The Argentine could likely quit PSG in the summer and is already linked with Real Madrid if Carlo Ancelotti leaves the Bernabeu. Manchester United are incidentally considering the Italian if they cannot appoint Pochettino as their new manager, according to a report from ESPN.
Ancelotti has extensive experience in the game, having managed several high profile clubs throughout his illustrious career. Having won the Champions League three times with AC Milan and Real Madrid, the Italian also boasts of numerous league title triumphs on his CV.
Given the need of managing some high profile names, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, Ancelotti could certainly be the perfect managerial appointment at Old Trafford. However, the Italian would be considered for the short-term, probably for two years, to stabilise the club and plan for the next phase.
Other names like Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone have been thrown around as suggestions. However, Manchester United have been urged to ditch their strategy from recent years and adopt a new building block for a successful phase. Rio Ferdinand insisted they should look at Liverpool’s model to design their team and make the correct managerial appointment.
Manchester United have not won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson’s last season. However, they did win the FA Cup and the Europa League with Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, respectively. It remains to be seen if they end up bringing in Ancelotti and whether he proves to be the right man to take the Red Devils back to their gloried heights of the past.
