Revealed: The six candidates on Man United's shortlist before Ruben Amorim's appointment... and the other European coach labelled 'great'

Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi reportedly led a list of six candidates to manage Manchester United before they changed tack and appointed Ruben Amorim. 

The northern giants were eager to prioritise Premier League experience before hearing that the Portuguese was 'football’s next great coach'. 

This was back in May 2024, just before Erik ten Hag won them the FA Cup final, and they eventually gave the Dutchman a contract extension before replacing him with Amorim in November. 

Amorim has nearly had a year in the hot seat but things could have turned out very differently, because United did actually make moves to bring in other names.

Tuchel, De Zerbi, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank, Marco Silva, and Graham Potter were all on the shortlist, according to The Athletic. 

United started to speak with those individuals, either in person or online, even after they had won the FA Cup, as Ten Hag's future hung in the balance. 

Director of football Jason Wilcox did get in touch with Amorim, and was left impressed by him, but the feeling at Old Trafford was that the jump from Sporting Lisbon to a club in transition would be too great. 

Tuchel met with club chiefs in Monaco but was eager to take a break from the club after leaving Bayern Munich and, in mid-October, was announced as England's next head coach.

The Athletic also writes that a proposal was made to De Zerbi, who had left Brighton, but he snubbed their approach for financial reasons. In July 2024 he was hired as manager of Marseille.

Another European talent was also identified. Thiago Motta, who had impressed at Bologna and was soon to join Juventus, was seen as another rising talent alongside Amorim.

In the end, as we know, United opted for Amorim. His record in Portugal spoke for itself - two league titles with Sporting Lisbon, three domestic cups, a win percentage of 71 per cent. It was hard to find a young coach on the continent with more hype. 

United were convinced of his merits after a five-hour meeting in Seville, southern Spain, on October 18, during which he laid out his vision. 

As per The Athletic, Amorim expressed hesitancy multiple times about taking over the job in mid-season.

'Why now?' he asked. 'Why not at the end of the season?'

More to follow.