Man United have cooled any interest they had in former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino despite the Argentine being the preferred candidate of Sir Alex Ferguson.
There is still a lot of mystery around the manager’s role at the Manchester club as the Premier League giants come towards the end of their end-of-season review. That will determine if Erik ten Hag will remain at Old Trafford for the new campaign and a decision on the 54-year-old is expected this week, reports Sky Sports.
Thomas Tuchel has already been ruled out of the running for the Man United job and it is now being reported by The Times that Pochettino is unlikely to be in the Old Trafford dugout next season should Ten Hag get the sack.
According to HITC’s Graeme Bailey, Sir Alex Ferguson was pushing for the former Chelsea manager to be the new Manchester United head coach, who is believed to have the ear of INEOS CEO, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
It is uncertain why United have lost interest in the Argentine as one candidate now stands out above the rest.
Roberto De Zerbi is the clear favourite for the Man United job
With Tuchel and Pochettino out of the running, that leaves Roberto De Zerbi as the clear favourite to take over at Man United next season should they move on from Ten Hag.
In an ideal world, all the noise from Old Trafford suggests that INEOS would like England coach Gareth Southgate to be their next manager; but with the Euros happening this summer, a move for the Three Lions boss is difficult.
That leaves De Zerbi as the standout candidate having left Brighton at the end of the season. The Italian would be easy to get, has Premier League experience and has an attractive style of play that the fans would appreciate.
However, all this talk becomes worthless should Ten Hag remain in his role at the Manchester club.