Manchester United’s next manager: Who should replace Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford
Manchester United are likely to have a new manager in charge this summer to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who stepped in after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking.
So which of the leading candidates should United hire? Are they best going for Ajax’s Erik ten Hag (who they have already spoken to), Spain boss Luis Enrique, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, Paris St-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham’s Antonio Conte, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti or Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui?
Carteret Analytics – who provide detailed manager assessments to Premier League, EFL, Bundesliga and MLS clubs – have assessed each candidate, as well as Rangnick, to see who would do the best job, and what each boss would offer.
Carteret predicts United would finish second under Tuchel or Conte next season… but say they would probably advise United to put Enrique top of their shortlist.
They say some of Enrique’s metrics are so good they outweigh the risk he has not managed a club in almost five years.
The analysts suggest all nine are better options than the most recent permanent manager, Solskjaer, who would have been projected to lead United to seventh place next season.
Here are the managers and their credentials, listed in order of their ranking and predicted finish – along with some additional data from Opta.
| The outstanding managers, according to Carteret |
|---|
| Managers who know how to win matches: Enrique, Ten Hag, Pochettino, Ancelotti |
| Best options for attacking football: Enrique, Pochettino |
| Best options for possession-based football: Enrique, Ten Hag, Conte |
Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea)
Predicted finish: Second
The reports linking Chelsea boss Tuchel, 48, to the Old Trafford job have grown with the uncertainty over the Blues’ future after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.
The German led Chelsea to last season’s Champions League just six months after replacing Frank Lampard and won this season’s Fifa Club World Cup. They are in contention for the Champions League and FA Cup this season.
Tuchel won a German Cup as Borussia Dortmund boss and led Paris St-Germain to a French treble and a second Ligue 1 title, plus a Champions League final, in two-and-a-half years.
James Powell, chief executive officer of the Carteret Group, says: “Tuchel is the most likely of any of these managers to achieve the highest league position with the current Manchester United squad.
“He is very good at setting up his team to achieve a high probability of winning the next match (strategic intelligence) but only has an average tactical command rating – suggesting that he is not as capable of turning an in-match position into an incrementally better position or win.”
Antonio Conte (Spurs)
Predicted finish: Second
Italian Conte, 52, is a serial winner.
He has won five league titles since 2011-12 (three with Juventus, one with Chelsea and one with Inter Milan) and an FA Cup with Chelsea.
Conte has only been Spurs manager since November but he has taken them from eighth to fifth.
Carteret says: “Conte is interesting because he achieves results, although his individual metrics are not the most exceptional in the sample of managers.
“He does have a relatively high attacking coefficient which might be attractive to the ‘attack, attack, attack’ mantra often associated with Manchester United supporters.”