End of the Amorim era: the contenders to lead United back to the summit of world football

Manchester United sacked Head Coach Ruben Amorim this morning after 14 months in charge at Old Trafford. But who are the candidates that could replace the Portuguese? Oliver Glasner The Austrian took Crystal Palace from an average mid-table side to European challengers in two seasons. Last year was a huge success for himself and Palace, as they beat Manchester City in their first FA Cup final and also beat Liverpool in the Community Shield. FA CUP ✅COMMUNITY SHIELD ✅ OLIVER GLASNER LOVES IT AT WEMBLEY 👀 pic.twitter.com/w4q7ZmZ2fk — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025 Prior to his time at the Eagles, the 51-year-old won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, beating Rangers on penalties in the final. An important note is that Glasner plays a very similar system to the one Amorim introduced at United, the 3-4-3/3-5-2. It has been highlighted that Glasner has been more adaptable than the outgoing United head coach. This could intrigue INEOS, as they have expressed how they want to stick to a certain style of play no matter who is at the helm at United. Enzo Maresca The Italian left Chelsea on New Year’s Day due to tensions with the club’s owners and could be looking at a more imminent return to management. Club statement: Enzo Maresca. — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 1, 2026 Before his time at Chelsea, Maresca was Assistant Managerto Pep Guardiola at Manchester City for two stints between 2020 and 2023. His biggest achievement at City was being a part of the team that won the treble in the 2022/23 season. The following season he was appointed manager at Leicester City and he gained instant promotion to the Premier League with the Foxes. However, Chelsea came in and swooped for the 45-year-old in the summer of 2024. He spent two years at the London club and won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. Andoni Iraola The current Bournemouth manager has transformed the club’s mentality, as they look to shoulder charge normal European contenders out of place. The Cherries took notice of the Basque during his time at La Liga club Rayo Vallecano. Where he spent three seasons and managed to help the Spanish club get promoted in 2021. The 43-year-old also led the club to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for the first time in 40 years. In 2023 Bournemouth came calling and appointed Iraola; it quickly became a great decision by the hierarchy, as they would play attractive attacking football and produce young talent who could be sold on for more money, such as Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid for £50 million, Illia Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain for £54.5 million, Milos Kerkez to Liverpool for £46.9 million and Dominic Solanke to Tottenham for £57 million. This type of style and coaching could suit United, with their past history of promoting youth players into their first team and also playing attacking football. Xavi Hernandez The Barcelona legend has not been in management since he left the Spanish giants in 2024. The 45-year-old did a fantastic job during his time in the northeast of Spain, where he won La Liga for the first time in three seasons and the Spanish Super Cup in 2023 whilst having to deal with the financial struggles Barca had at that point. Three years ago, Xavi returned to Barcelona as their head coach. Then he brought the La Liga trophy back to the Camp Nou 🫡 pic.twitter.com/IMHNLfjNxF — B/R Football (@brfootball) November 8, 2024 Like Iraola, Xavi had an ethos of promoting academy players, such as Yamine Yamal and Gavi, during his time at Barcelona. With INEOS wanting to play entertaining football and dominate games, the Catalonian could be the perfect man for the job in their eyes. It is also important to consider that United have reportedly hired Darren Fletcher as the interim head coach; depending on how INEOS looks at the manager market, they could wait and see who is available after the World Cup. With England manager Thomas Tuchel’s contract ending after the tournament, and Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann’s possible active termination clauses in his current contract that could see him possibly leave in either the summers of 2026 and 2027, there are certainly reasons to wait until July before INEOS make their move. Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Dan Burton Daniel Burton worked for Snack Media in 2022, then moved over to VAVEL in 2024, covering Manchester United, Manchester City and Everton. In 2025 Burton joined United Peoples TV, as a Podcast Host and Producer. He will now be reporting on Manchester United for The Peoples Person.