Manchester United have replaced Ruben Amorim on an interim basis until the end of the season, with several former players vying for the Old Trafford job.
Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will not be considered as Manchester United’s interim manager until the end of the season, it has been reported. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick remain the top two candidates to replace Darren Fletcher, according to reports.
United chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox met with both candidates on Tuesday. They will now meet with each of them to decide which one will return to Old Trafford.
Carrick is reportedly under serious consideration. However, Solskjaer has emerged as the frontrunner after being spotted in Cheshire on Tuesday.
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Both men have coached teams in similar situations before. Solskjaer achieved this in December 2018, winning his first eight games in all competitions after United sacked Jose Mourinho.
The Norwegian coach then signed a three-year contract three months after his return. His term ends in November 2021 and his sacking leaves Carrick in charge for three games.
Rather than retain their former player, United appointed Ralf Rangnick for the remainder of the season. Carrick soon resigned as first-team coach under the German manager.
His managerial career continued the following year when he was appointed to Middlesbrough. He bid farewell last summer after two and a half seasons at the Championship club.
Van Nistelrooy vacated his most recent position a few weeks after leaving Leicester City by mutual consent following relegation from the Premier League. The legendary striker coached PSV in the Netherlands for just over a year, winning the Dutch Cup, and previously worked at PSV’s academy.
He then returned to United as assistant coach under Erik ten Hag in the summer of 2024. Following his compatriot’s departure just a few months later, he took charge for three games before Ruben Amorim arrived. However, MailOnline has ruled him out of the interim role.
Solskjær is the most recent of the three, taking over as Besiktas manager in January last year. However, the Turkish team fired him earlier this season after losing in the conference league qualifiers.
United’s treble-winning striker has the most managerial experience of the options, having managed more than 200 games over two spells with Molde in Norway, and also had a brief stint at Cardiff City in his only season in the Premier League.
Darren Fletcher will take charge in United’s first game away at Burnley on Wednesday. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he explained: “We talked about it and we were focused on this game. We have a game to prepare for, we have a training session to prepare for and we have spoken to the players. The focus is on the game against Burnley and we will talk about it after the game.”
The Scot could then remain in charge as United face Brighton & Hove Albion in the third round of the FA Cup this weekend. Carrick or Solskjaer’s first game back at Old Trafford is likely to be the Manchester derby against City.
It will not be an easy game for Manchester United or for the candidate to be the next interim manager. The last game of January is a away trip to league leaders Arsenal.
