Nicky Butt has urged Manchester United to "go all-out" to make Mauricio Pochettino their next permanent manager - despite a pair of his former teammates favouring a rival candidate.
Pochettino is regarded as one of two leading options to take over at Old Trafford this summer having impressed during five-and-a-half seasons at Tottenham before joining Paris Saint-Germain in January 2021. Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is viewed as his main competition for the role and underwent his interview with United chiefs last week.
Spain's Luis Enrique and Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui round off the club's four-manager shortlist but Roy Keane and Paul Scholes have thrown their weight behind a fifth option: Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone. Speaking in February, Keane described Simeone as "the right kind of character" for the job and pointed out he has done "great things" in the Spanish capital.
Scholes echoed these comments after witnessing United crash out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage with a 1-0 defeat at home to Atletico in mid-March. The ex-England international told BT Sport : "If Diego Simeone was managing them, United would have gone through in that game." Simeone was appointed Atletico boss in 2011 and has led the club to numerous major honours including two La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey and two Europa League triumphs.
However, he has never managed outside of Spain, Italy or his native Argentina and Butt believes United need a boss with Premier League experience who can steady the ship at Old Trafford. "United need stability," the former midfielder told FourFourTwo. "They can't keep having interim managers or learners in very powerful positions. They need people who've been there, seen it and done it.
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"I'd go all-out to get Mauricio Pochettino as manager. He's proven in the Premier League, he's young and enthusiastic, his style of play would suit United and his backroom staff seem switched on. I met him a couple of times at Spurs' training ground and had lunch. You'd want to play for him."
The Red Devils sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November after a torrid run of form and brought in Ralf Rangnick as the Norwegian's replacement on an interim basis. The German is due to leave the hot seat this summer to begin a two-year stint as a consultant for the club. This leaves United with a matter of months to finalise their next managerial appointment if they would like the incumbent to have a full-preseason with the squad as well as the chance to assemble their plans for the summer transfer window.
