Manchester United will need to make a decision on their next managerial appointment soon.
They opted to appoint an interim boss late last year so that they could recruit their preferred candidate, although they will likely want to have a deal in place well before the end of the current campaign so that they have plenty of time to plan for the off-season.
Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino are the two names most frequently linked, although Gary Neville suggested Diego Simeone as a possible alternative.
Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this week after Atletico Madrid knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League, the pundit suggested that the Uruguayan could be the right type of personality to turn things around at Old Trafford.
Diego Simeone should be a candidate, but it’s never been achievable to get him out of Atletico Madrid...
Fantastic coach, brutal in how he approaches the game, I think in every single way. He’s tough, and Manchester United need a tough manager. Manchester United need a manager who can compete with Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola – they’re the best, so they need someone who can stand on that touchline and feel equal to them and I think Simeone could.
I wouldn’t rule Simeone out at all, but I think Ten Hag and Pochettino would be the way forward because they’ll want a progressive coach that plays a certain way, that probably is a little bit cheaper and available.
Simeone would certainly shake things up in the dressing room, having a reputation for demanding nothing short of absolute commitment from his players. That is not something that has been common at United in recent years.
However, his tactical approach could prove to be a stumbling block. Atletico Madrid employ a very defensive style, focused on frustrating the opposition and scoring on the counterattack. That might not be all that attractive a prospect for the Old Trafford fateful.
Writing in his column for the Daily Mirror, Robbie Fowler laughed off suggestions that Diego Simeone could be the next Manchester United boss, also offering an alternative choice to the most often linked names.
I laughed this week when I heard Gary Neville shouting that his former club should make Diego Simeone their next manager.
Honestly. C’mon. I’m not saying he’s anti-football, but some of the antics his team get up to, some of the horrible stuff they do, and the tactics they pursue. Not at Manchester United.
The fans would be calling it out within weeks, and even if he actually won things with it, they wouldn’t put up with it for long. United have a certain expectation about how they should be playing, which was laid down by Sir Matt Busby and Ferguson.
Simeone doesn’t fit with that. He doesn’t fit with anyone who loves football, he essentially exists to stop opponents playing football. Which no one should welcome...
I have a shout for them though. Simone Inzaghi, the younger brother of Filippo. You can see with Inter he has taken them on beyond the dour football of Antonio Conte, despite the club having financial problems. They are in contention for the title, performed well - and I think above their level - against Liverpool in the Champions League, and all with budget constraints.
Before that he was at Lazio, where he won three trophies and was hugely popular with the fans. Would it be a gamble? Of course. But United need someone with an ability to build something now, not simply a ‘name’.
Inzaghi has been forging quite the reputation in Italy in recent times, although he still seems like an unlikely choice for this job.
Simeone falls into the same category, even if it would be massively entertaining to see him in the Premier League.
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