Man Utd's Secret Six-Man Manager Shortlist Before Ruben Amorim Revealed

Manchester United's six-man shortlist ahead of appointing current manager Ruben Amorim has been leaked.

After over two years in charge of the club, Manchester United confirmed that former manager Erik Ten Hag had been sacked in October 2024 following their poor start to the season.

Shortly after, the Premier League giants began searching for their next manager, with several high-profile managers linked with a move to Old Trafford.

Eventually, United owners INEOS settled on current manager Amorim, who was appointed in November and he has since led the club through a turbulent time that saw them achieve their worst-ever Premier League finish while reaching the Europa League final.

The lacklustre form under Amorim recently has led to rumours that he could be sacked in the near future, and now the six other names that came the closest to joining United ahead of the Portuguese manager last year have been leaked.

Ruben Amorim has recently faced pressure over his role as United manager. (Image: Getty)

According to a report from The Athletic, following Ten Hag's dismissal, United's new owners developed a system to conduct a 'full data analysis on the managerial market' to assess who would be the best fit for their vision of the club's future.

Several manager's systems were evaluated under the view of moving it to an attacking 4-3-3 system with previous Premier League experience also given priority.

After careful evaluation of clips of their teams both in and out of possession, a shortlist of six candidates are identified: Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Frank, Marco Silva and Graham Potter.

Informal contact was made with all six managers, either in person or online, with reports at the time revealing that the United chiefs held meetings with Tuchel, who instead opted for the role of England manager.

The German boss was identified with the prime candidate alongside De Zerbi, with Amorim omitted from the initial list due to his lack of Premier League experience and his tactical systems.

Thomas Tuchel was identified as a prime target for United. (Image: Getty)

However, the report claims that throughout the hunt for a new manager, the Portuguese boss was mentioned several times during conversations with agents and players, particularly when United Director of Football asked contacts who could be the next great manager.

Thiago Motta was another name mentioned alongside Amoirm's ahead of his move from Bologna to join Juventus.

Of course, United eventually opted for Amorim, who finally seems to be finding form with the Red Devils having led them to three successive victories ahead of their trip to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.