Ruben Amorim’s dismissal from Manchester United, confirmed on Monday morning, is yet another sign the club still can’t sustain any kind of medium-term plan. The 1–1 draw away to Leeds United only sped up a process that had already been taking shape behind the scenes. It amounted to 14 months in charge, a contract running through 2027 cut short, and another severance payout added to the bill for a United that keeps paying dearly for its own decisions.
Amorim arrived in November 2024 after standing out at Sporting, costing the English club €11 million. He inherited an unstable roster and a pressure-filled environment shaped by the previous season’s failure, when United finished 15th, missed out on European competition, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham. Even with heavy spending, around €200 million, results improved in terms of points but never inspired real belief. Tension grew when the coach asked for reinforcements in January and ran into resistance from the board.
With a few free agents on the market and even an internal option in play, here are five coaches who could realistically be Manchester United’s next choice.
1. Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate has been available since leaving the England national team in 2024. His résumé shows consistency, solid runs in major tournaments, and rare longevity in the role. On the flip side, he faced constant criticism for unconvincing soccer and controversial decisions. He’s the kind of name the board tends to like, even if it splits the fan base.
2. Xavi
Xavi hasn’t coached a club since leaving Barcelona in 2024. He won important trophies but also dealt with internal conflicts and a final season without silverware. He’d arrive with a defined identity but would need full backing, something that’s been hard to come by at Old Trafford, where crises seem to roll on year after year.
3. Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca was recently dismissed by Chelsea despite lifting trophies. He could be a surprise option given his time on the blue side of Manchester as an assistant to Pep Guardiola. He’s widely seen as a promising coach with modern ideas and has earned praise from Guardiola himself.
4. Oliver Glasner
Oliver Glasner is an intriguing name. The 51-year-old Austrian is in charge of Crystal Palace and has stacked up achievements that caught the market’s eye. He won the 2024–25 FA Cup, the club’s first-ever title, then beat Liverpool in the 2025 Community Shield to add another historic trophy. Before that, he made a strong impression at Eintracht Frankfurt and landed on the radar of giants like Bayern.
Glasner stands out for his pragmatism without rigidity. He’s been clear that he adapts his tactical setup to the players available, switching between a 4-4-2, 3-4-3, or 4-2-3-1 depending on the roster. At a club where coaches often force ideas onto ill-fitting squads, that flexibility works in his favor.
5. Darren Fletcher
While the board debates outside names, Darren Fletcher steps in on an interim basis and could be the biggest surprise, depending on how things unfold. At 41, he represents something United has lacked for a long time, an internal sense of identity. Fletcher wore the shirt for nearly 15 years and knows the locker room, the culture, and the daily pressure of Old Trafford. As a player, he won the 2008 Club World Cup, the Champions League, and three straight English league titles from 2007 to 2009. He won’t arrive as a savior, but if results come quickly and the atmosphere settles, the in-house solution could turn into more than a stopgap.
In the end, Amorim’s fall doesn’t solve Manchester United’s core dilemma. The club remains torn between chasing a big-name hire and trying to reconnect with its own identity. There are qualified coaches on the table, different profiles, and multiple paths forward. The issue is that none of them work without backing, planning, and coherence. Firing another coach might ease the pressure for a few weeks, but without fixing what happens above the bench, the cycle is bound to repeat. And in Manchester, the clock never stops ticking.