Paul Merson has made his feelings known about the new manager Manchester United should welcome into the Old Trafford dugout.
Writing for Sky Sports, the former midfielder put forward British managers Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers as his preferences for the permanent United job.
The next man to sit in the Red Devils hot seat remains a mystery.
Ralf Rangnick’s interim stint will last until the end of the season, where he could take the role full-time or help to choose his successor instead. He came face to face with one of Merson’s chosen two last night.
Potter casts spell over United
Potter’s Brighton and Hove Albion made the long journey north yesterday for a standalone Premier League fixture.
Despite the Seagulls arguably outperforming their Old Trafford hosts, Rangnick’s side secured a much-needed 2-0 victory to grab their place back in the top four.
Not for the first time this season, Potter’s men outplayed their opponents but received none of the rewards.
Lewis Dunk’s red card in the second half, just after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring, helped to cause this latest disappointment, allowing United an easier path to victory.
Although the final scoreline went against Brighton, Potter certainly made a decent case to replace Rangnick in the summer. He will predictably join a long list of names who might make the Theatre of Dreams their reality.
Who will United pick as boss?
At the moment, Mauricio Pochettino remains one of the favourites to make the move to Manchester, regardless of his current position at Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Merson urged United’s hierarchy to overlook the Argentine and retrain their focus closer to home.
“If I was in charge at United, I’d be going for (Brendan) Rodgers or Graham Potter now,” the Sky Sports pundit said.
“People are still caught up on the Pochettino of seven years ago. If that’s the case, why isn’t everyone going for Claudio Ranieri again?
“He won the league in 2016, Pochettino didn’t. He took Tottenham as far as he could. Then you’ve got someone like Rodgers, who has done a far better job than Pochettino did.
“He only lost the league at Liverpool because of a slip. Now, he doesn’t even get a mention.”
Is Rodgers out of the running?
Unlike Potter, Rodgers hasn’t exactly given United much reason to look in his direction lately. Leicester City’s recent run has seen them slip rapidly down the table and tumble out of the FA Cup, thrashed by lower-league arch rivals Nottingham Forest.
Their last league win was against Liverpool on 28 December. Since then, the Foxes’ only other victory came at the hands of beloved ex-coach Ranieri.
If Leicester fail to finish tenth or higher, surely Rodgers can wave goodbye to taking over from Rangnick.
Meanwhile, the further Brighton move up the league ladder, the better Potter’s chances will be for securing a seat at the highest table of them all.
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