According to reports, Manchester United have decided who is the ‘heavy favourite’ to be their next permanent manager as they have five ‘top candidates’.

The Red Devilsare currently working on a succession plan after deciding to part ways with former head coach Ruben Amorim on Monday morning.

Amorimwas fortunate to last 14 months at Man Utd due to their dire performances and results in several competitions, while he also faced criticism due to his naive refusal to adapt his philosophy.

The final straw came when he clashed with director of football Jason Wilcox in a tense meeting, which led to Amorim publicly criticising the club’s chiefs in a press conference.

Following his exit, Man Utd have been working on appointing an interim boss until the summer, at which point they will look to bring in a more established manager to provide a long-term solution.

READ:?Is this the least surprising ‘shock call’ over who Manchester United should appoint as their next manager?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick are currently vying for the interim role, while several top-tier managers are linked with Man Utd ahead of potential moves to Old Trafford in the summer.

This includes Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and England’s Thomas Tuchel, who have been mooted as leading contenders to be Man Utd’s next permanent boss.

Now, a report from Caught Offsideclaims Glasner is currently the ‘heavy favourite’ to join Man Utd in the summer, but he and Tuchel are among the ‘five top candidates’.

Regarding Man Utd’s other candidates, the report explains: ‘One other particularly tempting option for United could be England manager Thomas Tuchel, but the issue there is that his focus this summer will be on the World Cup.

‘Others to watch out for will be former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, even if Manchester City looks more likely, along with Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna.’

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Despite this, Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Red Devils are not currently making a move for Maresca, who is also linked with Manchester City.

Romano explained:?“Man City are interested in Enzo Maresca for the future. It’s not something imminent, it’s not something guaranteed, it’s something for the future, if Maresca will be available as a manager when Pep Guardiola decides to leave. But Pep has not decided anything at this stage.

“From Man Utd, the message is a different kind of coach for the summer, not a coach for now.

“This is why the links from Italy with Maresca taking the Man Utd job immediately are something that I’m told is not concrete at all at this stage.

“Man Utd will take their time to start the process and try to understand who is the best manager possible for the season 2026/2027.”