“The only one who fits…”: Gary Neville snubs fan favourite, identifies perfect candidate to take over at United

After 14 underwhelming months, Manchester United have got rid of Ruben Amorim and are on the hunt for the perfect interim replacement. A fiery clash with the club’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, followed by some explosive comments after the Leeds game, meant INEOS had no choice but to sack the Portuguese. The results under him and his style of play won him few favours, while his reluctance to utilise the academy was jarring. Darren Fletcher has been placed in charge for now and has already shown signs of progress, as seen during the Burnley game. Interim appointment plans While he will remain in charge at least until the FA Cup tie against Brighton, the co-owners are keen to bring in a more reliable name, at least till the end of the season. As things stand, the race is between former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his former assistant, Michael Carrick. The Treble winner’s appointment is being backed by superstars within the squad, with the Norwegian keen to stay permanently should he impress and take the club back to the Champions League. However, his former teammate Gary Neville does not think so. The ex-England international urged INEOS to cut out the risks, and bring in someone who is a born winner. Gary Neville’s suggestions The former right-back mentioned Thomas Tuchel, and Carlo Ancelotti as the kind of names the Red Devils should go for in the summer if they are serious about bringing back the glory days. Gary Neville told Sky Sports: “They should remove the risks. It does look like that’s going to be put off for another four or five months, which I don’t disagree with because if they can get a Carlo Ancelotti or a Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season, a manager of that ilk, then you’d wait for them. “For so long, over 12 years, the football has been really poor. If you think about the appointments over that time, Jose Mourinho is the only one who fits the criteria of the club. “Knowing the league, remove the risks. Have they managed in the league and do they know the game here? Have they managed in Europe and done well in Champions League? Big-name managers “Have they been successful and won titles? Can they handle big pressure and big atmosphere? They have to fit that criteria. You’re looking at [Carlo] Ancelotti and [Thomas] Tuchel. “They’ve been in England, won leagues, won the Champions League and managed big players. They won’t get a bit scared if a pundit says something. My point is, if you think about that criteria, it only points towards two or three people.” Both are busy with international commitments at present, but once the World Cup gets over, there could be an opportunity opening up. 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 Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25