Former Man Utd defender Rio Ferdinand reckons the Red Devils should attempt to sign Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi as Ruben Amorim’s successor.

The Red Devils sacked Amorim last week as Darren Fletcher took over as caretaker manager for games against Burnley and Brighton.

Man Utdannounced on Tuesday that they have appointed Michael Carrick as the club’s new interim boss until the end of the season.

INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe will then make a decision on who will become the new permanent successorof Man Utd in the summer after identifying their top targets.

And Ferdinand reckons it has to be a manager who is “bringing that fire” with former Brighton boss De Zerbi and England head coach Thomas Tuchel his top picks.

When discussing Man Utd’s next permanent manager, Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: “Someone who’s free right now; not free [but] someone who’s gettable.

READ:?Man Utd ‘having second thoughts’ about Prem manager as ‘red flags’ create Ratcliffe doubt

“More than someone like [Thomas] Tuchel, because Tuchel would be one of my biggest picks as well, is De Zerbi. I’m telling you. Any formation he wants to play, the guy is a proper coach who gets players working and playing.”

Ferdinand added:?“I’d bring fire to the party, I’m telling you. I’d bring fire… I wouldn’t bring craziness, but I’d bring [in] someone who’s bringing that fire, that passion.

“But really, really backed up by someone who’s shown that they can coach the life out of a team. They can coach the hell out of a team. They can coach individuals, improve players and can really put down a way of playing?football. I really do believe you need someone who is strong on their own identity.”

Former Sky Sportspresenter Richard Keys reckons Man Utd should “move heaven and earth” to bring former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso in after he was sacked as Real Madrid head coach.

Keys wrote on X: “Perfect. United should move heaven and earth to appoint Alonso. And don’t tell me his time at Liverpool rules him out – [Sir Matt] Busby played for them and [Manchester] City.”

Former Man Utd defender Paul Parker recently selected Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner as his top pick to take over from Carrick in the summer.

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
*?Man Utd have ‘no plans to make new signings’ in January as three wantaway stars will stay
*?Are Man Utd an ‘a(chǎn)bsolute omnishambles’ or should ‘dunderheeds’ be defended?
*?Predicting the next manager of every club – continued: who replaces Newcastle-bound Carrick at Man Utd?

Parker said: “Oliver Glasner would be my dream choice as a new Manchester United manager in an ideal world, but the situation around Man United just isn’t ideal at the moment.

“So, the reason why I am not leaning towards Oliver Glasner is because he wants to achieve something. He is demanding a lot and wants success. That doesn’t correlate very well with Manchester United.

“We have seen it at Crystal Palace for a very long time. He wants to be at the top and be given the best chances of doing that. He wants to work with who he wants, not what other people want.?Glasner is improving clubs and players.

“He has always done that, but he wouldn’t be given the chance to do that at Man United. He wants to get involved and he has a lot of opinions. He wants a final say and the manager at Man United is being controlled by a puppet master.

“He has won two trophies at Crystal Palace and brought them into European football. He gave the club something they never had. He added a new style to the football club, but Man United are not ready for him.?I think he would have a go at a lot of players who wouldn’t like to work under him.

“He would tell them what is right and wrong, because he is very strong minded. He is still my number one choice, but I would be seriously worried. Not because of him but because of the club.”

READ NEXT:?Romano reveals the two managers ‘guaranteed’ a shot at the permanent Man Utd job