Who will be the next Manchester United manager after Ten Hag?

Manchester United sacked manager Erik ten Hag on Monday after the club failed to show any progress in the Dutchman's third season, leaving the hot seat vacant for a new coach to try their luck at one of the toughest jobs in the Premier League.

Since Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013, the 20-times English champions have not won the league title despite some big names such as Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho taking the reins.

The following are some of the candidates among the favourites to replace Ten Hag:

RUUD VAN NISTELROOY

The former United forward was a crowd favourite during his time at the club where he scored 150 goals and is no stranger to the dugout having taken the role of assistant coach this season.

Van Nistelrooy will replace Ten Hag on an interim basis but this is not his first big job as a coach. The Dutchman managed PSV Eindhoven in 2022-23 when he guided them to the Dutch Cup and second place in the Eredivisie.

United will hope the squad responds to a former player taking charge in the manner that Van Nistelrooy's ex-teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revived the club's fortunes when he came in on an interim basis and was rewarded with the permanent role.

XAVI HERNANDEZ

After a stellar career in which he won 25 trophies as a midfielder with Barcelona, Xavi cut his teeth in management in Qatar where he led Al-Sadd to a league title and several cups before he was brought back to the Catalan club in November 2021.

In his first full season, Barca romped home in the LaLiga title race with four games to spare despite the club's deep financial crisis as they ended a four-year drought and he brought some much-needed stability.

The club were in the doldrums following the departure of talisman Lionel Messi but Xavi managed to