Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner and former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca are the leading contenders to replace Ruben Amorim at Manchester United on a long-term basis.
Amorim’s torrid spell in charge of the Red Devils was brought to an end on Monday morning when the Portuguese tactician met with director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada and was subsequently relieved of his position.
The 40-year-old lost his cool in the press conference after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road, saying: “I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear.
“I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, is not [Antonio] Conte, is not [José] Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United.
“It’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decided [sic] to change.
“That was my point. I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until [the] other guy is coming here to replace me.”
Controlled performance against Leeds
On the game itself, Amorim told the press: “I think we did well. We improved a lot of things that compared to the last game.
“We controlled well one-against-one. A really good environment, really funny environment, and they did well. We controlled more the possession, the connection, the position of the players.
“I think they were in the better positions to play and that can show in the way we played. We had more chances than the opponent to score, but we need to not to think about the next one.”
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Fletcher takes interim charge
Former United midfielder Darren Fletcher has been placed in charge of the United first team on an interim basis – and he is a 4/1 shot with bookmakers to be the manager at Old Trafford for the first game of the 2026/27 season.
Eagles manager Glasner is the bookies’ favourite to step into the dugout for the new season, while Maresca – still licking his wounds after his Chelsea departure over the festive period – is rated as a 3/1 contender to be in charge of the Red Devils next term.
England manager Thomas Tuchel (17/2), former Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate (17/2), ex–United striker Robin Van Persie (14/1) and Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna (14/1) are also in the running with bookmakers, with Mourinho (16/1), Zinedine Zidane (16/1) and Mauricio Pochettino (16/1) rated as longer shots.
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Amorim’s poor win percentage
For now, Amorim leaves Manchester with a terrible win percentage of just 31.9%, having won 15, drawn 13 and lost 19 of his 47 games at the helm of the North-West giants.
A club statement from United read: “The club’s leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change.
“This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish.”
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No joy of six
United are currently sixth in the Premier League table, having banked 31 points from their opening 20 top-flight games – eight wins, seven draws and five defeats.
Amorim was appointed Manchester United boss in November 2024 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, which was due to expire in June 2027, and immediately tried to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation which served him so well at Sporting CP.
The writing seemed on the wall when he hinted the club’s hierarchy were not willing to spend any more money in this month’s transfer window, saying: “I have the feeling if we have to play a perfect 3-4-3, we need to spend a lot of money and we need time.
“I’m starting to understand that is not going to happen.”
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