The next United manager debate is heating up again. With some of my top choices suddenly off the table, the club will have to look elsewhere to fill the Old Trafford dugout.
Thomas Tuchel has signed a contract extension with England until 2028. Carlo Ancelotti looks set to stay with Brazil until 2030. And Luis Enrique? Despite earlier speculation he might leave PSG, the 55-year-old recently said he’s “so happy at Paris Saint-Germain.” He looks unlikely as well.
So, where does that leave United? There are still other options, but few excite me like my new top 3 ⬇
1. Julian Nagelsmann
This is a manager I’ve admired ever since he and his RB Leipzig side knocked United out of the Champions League group stage in 2020/21.
That was the first time I really took notice.
I love his style as it contains no holding back. It's 100mph. Full throttle. Typical modern German football.
From that moment, I’ve followed his career with intrigue.
Nagelsmann is not a random name in this conversation either. He has been linked with the United job before — even as a potential successor to Erik ten Hag. And at the time, I was content with that idea.
There’s something about him. Not hype. Not gimmick. Just presence.
He feels like a manager with edge, someone who wouldn’t tolerate nonsense in the dressing room. I like that. United need that.
But here’s where the doubts creep in.
During his time at Bayern Munich (2021–2023), there were reports that he struggled at times to fully get his ideas across to certain senior players. Sound familiar?
That’s the red flag.
Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned at United, it’s that strong tactical ideas mean nothing if the dressing room doesn’t buy in.
And then there’s the hierarchy question.
Nagelsmann isn’t someone who would quietly accept being controlled from above. He has his own philosophy, his own methods. If the club want a manager they can influence, he may not be that guy.
He’s also still relatively young in managerial terms. Leipzig was his first true elite-level job. He did relatively well to a point where Bayern came calling. During his two seasons, the 38-year-old won the Bundesliga once and two German Super Cups. Now he’s with Germany, contracted until 2028 — which makes any move complicated and expensive.
The biggest concern though?
He feels of a similar ilk to the last two permanent managers — progressive, system-heavy, tactically demanding. A young, up-and-coming hipster manager.
We’ve seen how that story can go.
Nagelsmann is exciting. He’s intelligent. He has pedigree.
But he is a risk.
And right now, United don’t feel like a club in a position to gamble again.
2. Antonio Conte
Perhaps the most unrealistic name on this list — but also the one that excites me the most.
And if I’m being honest, there aren’t many other managers out there that truly do.
Yes, there’s risk with Conte.
But there’s also certainty.
The Italian is a serial winner. Juventus. Chelsea. Inter. Napoli. The Italian national team. He has managed elite environments and, more importantly, he has delivered in them.
At Juventus, he began their dominant 2010s era, winning three consecutive Serie A titles, including an invincible 2011/12 campaign.
He went to Chelsea and won the Premier League at the first attempt in 2016/17, becoming one of just four managers (at the time) to lift the title in their debut season. A year later, he added an FA Cup with a final victory over United.
He then ended Inter’s long wait for a Scudetto during the COVID season.
He is now the current holder of the title in Italy after winning it with Napoli last season.
Wherever he goes, standards rise. Quickly.
That’s the appeal.
Of course, the other side of Conte is just as well documented.
He doesn’t stay long. His average tenure is short (1.4 years [Transfermarkt]), he falls out with boards, he demands backing, he doesn’t tolerate mediocrity. You saw how it ended at Tottenham.
But ask yourself — is that necessarily a bad thing right now?
United don’t need comfort. They don’t need vibes. They don’t need another long-term “project” that may or may not materialise.
They need accountability.
Conte is not someone the players can overpower. Nor is he someone the board can quietly sideline. He is confrontational, demanding and unapologetically ambitious.
Bro takes no shit ❌.
And frankly, this squad might need that.
The complication, however, is realism. He is under contract at Napoli until 2027 and despite an underwhelming European campaign in which the Italian champions finished 30th knocking them out at the first hurdle, and trailing Inter domestically by 11 points, he is not exactly on the verge of departure.
Which makes this potential deal difficult.
But if United are serious about raising standards immediately — not in three years, not after another rebuild — Conte is the only realistic elite winner left who genuinely shifts the ceiling.
Yes, he’s volatile. Yes, it could explode. But it would not be passive.
And maybe that’s exactly what this club needs.
3. Michael Carrick
I’ve said before — I wouldn’t give him the job, no matter how well he’s done as interim.
But with Tuchel, Ancelotti, and Enrique off the table, Carrick suddenly looks like a realistic option as there are fewer top-tier competitors, and fewer competitors at all, in my opinion, that could cause him to not be given the permanent position.
He’s managed just five games so far. I won’t rehash everything I’ve said, but here's a quick rundown:
- Brought back belief
- Made everyone happy
- Playing a style suited to United
- Winning games
- Increased chances of Champions League qualification
Some would look at that and say, “That’s enough evidence to give him the permanent role.”
I get it — especially with the limited options. Carrick knows the club, knows the players, gets the best out of them, and as a club legend, he has fan support. Supporters on side is a HUGE factor.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: what he’s done isn’t anything new. We’ve been down this route before — it worked in the short term, but it was also a risk. And Carrick is inexperienced, not a proven winner. He doesn’t bring the aura or the tactical edge of someone like Nagelsmann.
On the other hand, I’d rather have him over Eddie Howe, Andoni Iraola, or Gareth Southgate. But to me, Carrick is a last-resort option.
Other possibilities include Roberto De Zerbi, Xavi, Xabi Alonso — even Zinedine Zidane, although he’s waiting on France — but none of them spark the same excitement as the three I’ve highlighted.
So, with Tuchel, Ancelotti, and Enrique out of the running, where do we go from here? Who would you realistically want as United’s manager next season?
Antonio Conte | Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images via Sempre Inter
Michael Carrick | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)
Julian Nagelsmann | Photo by SASCHA SCHUERMANN/AFP via Getty Images - Get German Football News
Old Trafford | Photo by Adwitiya Pal on Unsplash