According to reports, a ‘shock’ Manchester United manager target is confident of being chosen to replace head coach Ruben Amorim.

Amorim is currently among the favourites to be the next Premier League manager sackedas Man Utd have suffered a poor start to the 2025/26 campaign.

The Unitedboss has come under intense pressure following Man Utd’s embarrassing Carabao Cup exit against League Two side Grimsby Town, while the Red Devils sit tenth in the Premier League table after three losses in seven games.

Amorim‘s side earned a much-needed win over Sunderland in their final game before this month’s international break, but he will be back on the exit ramp if his side are beaten by arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

The inexperienced boss has endured a woeful first year at Old Trafford as they stooped to an embarrassing new low in 2024/25, finishing 15th in a trophyless campaign.

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Amorim’s insistence on his failing 3-4-3 formation will likely contribute to his downfall at Man Utd, who have been heavily linked with several potential replacements in recent months.

Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and AFC Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola have been mooted as potential frontrunners to replace Amorim, though The Sunare reporting that a ‘shock candidate’ could succeed him at Old Trafford.

According to their information, former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is hopeful of replacing Amorim at Man Utd.

The 60-year-old won the Premier League at Man City and later won the European Championships with Italy.

Mancini has most recently managed the Saudi Arabian national team, but he has been out of work since leaving this position at the end of 2024.

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As per the report, Mancini has ‘told friends’ that he ‘could be a shock contender to replace Amorim if Man Utd decide to sack him’.

This is said to be for two main reasons, as he’s already ‘met’ with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his ‘CV remains impressive’.

The report claims:

‘Like Sir Jim Ratcliffe, he has a base in the South of France and is believed to have met the Ineos magnate at various social functions.

‘And his CV remains impressive – as well as his trophies at the Etihad, he also led Italy to Euro 2020 glory at the expense of England.’

Recently, Ratcliffe boldly claimed that Amorim would be given three years to prove himself at Man Utd, but the head coach played down these claims during his press conference on Friday.

Amorim said:?“He tells me all the time, sometimes with a message after games. But you know, I know and Jim knows that football is not like that. The most important thing is the next game, you cannot control, even with owners, you cannot control the next day in football.

“So I know that, but it’s really good to hear that also because of the noise, but Omar (Berrada, chief executive) and Jason (Wilcox, director of football) tell me that all the time.

“First of all, I can feel (the support). It’s not just that thing that people talk about. But I feel it every day. And again, sometimes the pressure that I put on the team or on myself is so much bigger than them.

“I know that it’s going to take a while, but I don’t want to think like that. I said that last year. But of course again, it’s really good to hear that. I think it helps our fans to understand that leadership is going to take a while. But at the same moment, I don’t like that, because it will give a feeling that we have time to work things out.

“So I don’t want that feeling here in our club. Again, the most important thing is the next game. It’s good to feel the support, but we need to prove in football and especially in big clubs that every weekend we are ready to win games.”