Man Utd reject club icon coming back as new interim manager hunt takes twist
Manchester United have ruled out Ruud van Nistelrooy in their interim manager search with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick their top two candidates.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has been ruled out as a potential interim manager for Manchester United until the end of the season, leaving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick as the prime candidates. Both contenders have had discussions with United's chief executive, Omar Berrada, and director of football, Jason Wilcox, who will hold further meetings before making their decision.
Carrick is under serious consideration, having previously served as an interim boss and demonstrated his managerial capabilities at Middlesbrough. However, Solskjaer emerged as the front-runner after being spotted in Cheshire on Tuesday. Both candidates have prior experience leading the team under similar circumstances. Solskjaer took the reins in December 2018 following Jose Mourinho's dismissal, winning his first eight matches across all competitions.
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He then signed a three-year contract three months into his return, which ended in November 2021, leading to Carrick taking charge for three games.
Ralf Rangnick was appointed for the remainder of the season instead of retaining the former player, leading to Carrick's departure from his role as first-team coach. Carrick continued his managerial career at Middlesbrough, where he spent two-and-a-half seasons before parting ways last summer.
Van Nistelrooy departed his latest role just weeks afterwards, leaving Leicester City by mutual agreement following their drop to the Championship. The celebrated marksman also spent slightly more than a year managing PSV in his homeland, claiming the Dutch Cup whilst previously working within their youth setup.
He subsequently rejoined United as Ten Hag's assistant during the summer of 2024. After his fellow Dutchman's exit just months afterwards, he took temporary charge for three fixtures before Ruben Amorim's appointment. Nevertheless, he won't be given another chance to lead at Old Trafford.
Solskjaer represents the most recent appointment of the trio, having assumed control of Besiktas in January last year. Yet the Turkish outfit dismissed him earlier this campaign following defeat in the Conference League qualifiers.
United's treble-winning forward boasts the greatest managerial credentials amongst their candidates, having overseen more than 200 fixtures across two periods at Molde in Norway, plus a short tenure with Cardiff City during their solitary Premier League campaign.
Darren Fletcher will oversee his maiden fixture on Wednesday when United travel to Burnley. Speaking ahead of the encounter, he revealed: "I've had a conversation [about the future] and the focus was on this game. I've got a game to prepare for, a training session to organise, and I've been speaking to the players. The focus has been on the Burnley match, and we'll speak after the game."
United are next set to clash with Brighton in the third round of the FA Cup this weekend, a match where the Scotsman is expected to maintain his leadership role.
The first game back at Old Trafford for either Carrick or Solskjaer appears to be the highly anticipated Manchester derby against City.
The challenges continue to mount for Man United and their potential interim manager. Their last match of January will see them travel to face the current league leaders, Arsenal.
