Ed Woodward has compiled a five-man shortlist as he aims to find the next permanent manager of Manchester United.
Mauricio Pochettino remains the club’s first-choice to fill the position but contingency plans are being put in place just in case the Tottenham Hotspur manager decides against the switch to Old Trafford.
The Sun report that French legends Zinedine Zidane and Laurent Blanc are both on the shortlist, while current caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also in the running, depending on how he fares with his attempts to turn United’s season around.
Solskjaer has overseen three victories since taking over from Jose Mourinho before Christmas, with the Red Devils scoring 12 goals in the last 10 days.
A surprise candidate has also emerged in the form of Red Bull Salzburg manager Marco Rose, who guided the club to the Austrian Bundesliga title in his first season in charge and earned plenty of plaudits for his attacking brand of football.
Red Bull also reached the semi-final of last season’s Europa League after eliminating Real Sociedad, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio before coming unstuck against Marseille.
It’s reported that Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann has also been considered but is not an official target because he has already announced that he will take over at RB Leipzig next season.
United have yet to come close to replacing Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired in 2013 and was replaced by David Moyes.
Moyes lasted less than a year and after Ryan Giggs took temporary charge, Louis van Gaal came aboard for two seasons.
Mourinho lasted the longest of any manager since Ferguson’s retirement but he parted company with United two weeks ago after coming under increasing pressure from fans.
