Rio Ferdinand has revealed the two ‘lunatic’ managers he thinks should be favourites for the permanent Man United job in the summer.
The Red Devils have now sacked six managers since the great Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and, despite the appointment of Michael Carrick, will probably be on the hunt for another in the summer.
The hierarchy at Old Trafford are unlikely to be short of options, with a number of international managers potentially becoming available after the World Cup. Indeed, Thomas Tuchel, Carlo Ancelotti and Julian Nagelsmann are all managers with pedigree who have been linked to the job.
However Ferdinand has pinpointed Roberto de Zerbi and former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte as the two managers who his former club should be looking at in an interview with the BBC.
He said: ‘We’ve had every type of manager now. We’ve had the wily, old Louis van Gaal, we’ve had Jose Mourinho. Probably not at his Chelsea peak but still a massive name with great character.
‘We’ve had the young, upcoming managers like (Erik) Ten Hag and Amorim. Then we’ve had the local legends who know the club.
Rio Ferdinand has pinpointed Antonio Conte and Roberto de Zerbi as the two managers Man United should be looking at
‘We now probably need to go down the lunatic road. We need to go down the people that are passionate and a bit gun-slinger type that just go at it, who won’t have it from the media.
‘When I say lunatic, there are only two people that I’m looking at right now. (Antonio) Conte jumps off the page to me. I think he’s somebody who would jump at the opportunity. I think he came into Chelsea and Napoli when they were both tenth or eleventh and won the league both times. So he knows how to come in and stabilise.
‘On the other hand you’ve got someone that can coach their team and get a playing style and an identity very quickly. He’s done it at three clubs already, and that’s De Zerbi.
‘We need elements of both of those two coaches and I’d be absolutely fine by getting either of them.’
Both De Zerbi and Conte are currently in jobs, the former at Marseille and the latter at Napoli, so either club would require compensation if they were prized away.
Whether United directors Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada would appoint such outspoken managers remains a doubt after Amorim was sacked following a rant at Elland Road.
United face Man City in the derby at noon on Saturday in what will be new Red Devils head coach Carrick’s first game at Old Trafford alongside his new assistants Steve Holland, Jonathan Woodgate and former United centre-back Jonny Evans.
The ex-Middlesbrough boss was appointed earlier this week after beating Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to the role, and addressed the media for the first time at Carrington on Friday.
Michael Carrick takes charge of his first game in the Old Trafford hotseat tomorrow against Man City
He insisted that the powers that be at United have not set him and his coaching team any goals for the remainder of the season, though the target has to be European football.
‘Like I said, we want to be near the top of the league, we want to be top of the league. That’s pretty obvious to say, but we’ve got to take some small steps towards that, and European football obviously would be a step forward. We’ve got to keep pushing,’ Carrick said.
‘I’ve spoken to Jason an awful lot and working closely with Jason and Omar as well over the last few days, we’ve spoken a lot as you’d imagine.
‘The ownership group were in and around it. It was nice to see them and meet them yesterday and have a small chat with them, taking care of business in some ways. We were able to share a few things, so they wished us the very best and it was good to see them.’
With United currently sitting in seventh position, Carrick faces a tough introduction to life in the Old Trafford hotseat with games against Arsenal, Fulham and Spurs following the Manchester derby.
