With just two months left until the end of the season, Manchester United's hunt for their next manager has begun to heat up.
Interim boss Ralf Rangnick is due to move into a consultancy role at the end of the campaign, helping the club identify their new man and sticking around while they find their feet and build a squad. Suggestions that Rangnick himself could be in contention for the permanent gig have quietened in the light of United's Champions League exit and Premier League struggles, but four managers remain very much in the mix.
Erik ten Hag has been interviewed for the job, and is believed to be United's clear preference, though Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique and Julen Lopetegui are also in the hunt. Here, Mirror Football looks more closely at the quartet and identifies the pros and cons of each.
Erik ten Hag
Pros
Ajax boss Ten Hag has a near-flawless domestic record with the Amsterdam club. His team won the Eredivisie in 2018-19 and 2020-21, the latter by a 16-point margin, and were joint-top in the intervening season when the Dutch season was curtailed.
The run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 also demonstrated European pedigree, with no United team making it as far in the competition since they reached the final under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011. Ten Hag has also shown smarts in the transfer market, rebuilding after that season's squad was ripped apart, and there's every chance United will need wholesale changes with several current squad members out of contract in the summer and others linked with permanent exits.
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Cons
The manner of Ajax's 2019 elimination may worry United, with Ten Hag's men holding a three-goal advantage with just 45 minutes remaining and still falling to Spurs. Similarly, the unexpected last-16 elimination from this season's competition - off the back of a perfect six group wins out of six - may raise alarm bells.
There's also the fact that the former Utrecht boss has yet to manage in one of the bigger European leagues. He has dealt well with the pressure of fighting for titles in the Netherlands, and Ajax definitely carry some of the same 'big club' pressures as the Old Trafford side, but there are levels.
Mauricio Pochettino
Pros
Pochettino is the only member of the quartet to have managed in the Premier League, and this shouldn't be overlooked. A familiarity with the league could well make for an easier transition, and there have already been rumblings about the likes of Harry Kane being open to an Old Trafford switch is the Argentine is at the helm.
It's not just a case of that experience on its own, though, and no United fan will consider the track record to be a magic bullet considering how things ended with Jose Mourinho. However, Pochettino has shown a willingness to bring through young talents at both Spurs and Southampton, and this could endear him to a fanbase with a very clear idea of what tradition and philosophy at the club should look like.
Cons
For all the progress Pochettino made at Spurs, he left the club without that ever-elusive trophy. United themselves haven't won anything since the Europa League in 2017, but they view themselves as a club which should be competing for trophies, and this has brought about the demise of plenty of bosses in the last decade.
Recent months in Paris will also worry some, even if the French champions-elect aren't exactly the same as other big clubs. Pochettino has struggled to find balance in a club packed with star names, prompting a frustrating Champions League elimination in Madrid, and one thing we know about United is there will usually be big-name players to keep on track.
Luis Enrique
Pros
While Pochettino has had a tough time with a squad containing Lionel Messi and Neymar, the opposite is true of Luis Enrique. The Spaniard was in charge of the pair at Barcelona in 2015 as the Catalan club won the league with 110 goals in 38 games and lifted the Champions League with Neymar scoring the clincher in the final.
Backers of the 51-year-old will also be impressed by his record with Spain, qualifying for the World Cup with eight wins from 10 games and just five goals conceded. He will also be able to see things from the players' side, at least in theory, having played at three World Cups for Spain and also represented La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona: he knows what it's like to play for a big club like United as well as managing one, and this served him well at Camp Nou.
Cons
The biggest question mark for many will be the five-year gap since Luis Enrique last took charge of a club side. For all the impressive moments in charge of Spain, and in charge of Barcelona before then, a lot has changed in club football since 2017 and there will be a pressure to demonstrate he has new ideas to fit where the game is right now.
Additionally, his pre-Barcelona managerial career was solid but unspectacular, with steady returns at both Roma and Celta Vigo as he found his feet. There won't be any time to waste if he takes the United job, which would be a step into the unknown for a man with no experience of English football.
Julen Lopetegui
Pros
United have seen Lopetegui's plus points close up, with the Spaniard in charge of the Sevilla side which eliminated them from the 2019-20 Europa League. A run of just two goals conceded in five knockout games before that season's final also points to a sturdiness which United have often been unable to demonstrate on the continent.
Similar solidity has been on show in this season's league campaign, with Sevilla well on track to reach the Champions League group stage once more. Lopetegui's time in charge of the Spanish national team was also impressive, with nine wins and a draw across 10 qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and a +33 goal difference - an example of a manager taking good players and producing even better results.
Cons
Still, it's hard to look past the manner in which Lopetegui's Spain reign ended, and indeed what followed thereafter. His secret conversations with Real Madrid before the 2018 World Cup might not be a deal-breaker, though there may be questions of trust he'll need to convince people on during the interview process, but his tenure at the Bernabeu is a different story.
It may be the case that the manner of his arrival at the club left him on a hiding to nothing, but the fact is he didn't do enough to convince the higher-ups that he even deserved a full season in charge. Elite football is a punishing environment, and United may feel they can't afford to take a risk on a man whose last big club venture ended so swiftly.
