Gary Neville wants Manchester United to replace sacked manager Jose Mourinho with Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino.
The Red Devils announced on Tuesday that the Portuguese boss had left the club with immediate effect, with a caretaker manager to be put in place until the summer when a permanent appointment will be made.
Club legend Neville has now weighed in on who should be the next permanent manager of the club, putting forward Spurs boss Pochettino as the ideal candidate.
As quoted by Sky Sports in their live blog [10:19], he said: “I’ve been fortunate to spend time at Tottenham’s training ground, and for me he feels like the ideal candidate.
“Man United have tried managers who have won European cups, they’ve tried managers who have won multiple leagues.
“My view is they need someone who meets the three key principles of the football club, and that is promotion of youth, entertaining football, and to win football matches.”
OPINION
It is no surprise to see Neville put forward Pochettino’s name for the Manchester United job, with the Sky Sports pundit having been a vocal advocate of the Argentine for a long time now. Pochettino has been a name linked with the club for a while now as well, and will no doubt be one of the favourites to take over from Mourinho in the long term when the summer rolls around. As Neville points out, the way in which Pochettino promotes youth while playing entertaining football really speaks to Manchester United as a club, and many fans will be keen on seeing him take the reins. However, the reality of the situation may be very different. Pochettino has just put pen to paper on a long-term contract with Spurs, who have a new stadium on the way. This is a crucial time in the club’s history and the Argentine will surely be keen to stick around. Obviously the lure of Old Trafford is strong, and the club will be willing to pay Spurs handsomely for his services, but securing him will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination.