Roberto De Zerbi has been heavily linked with the Manchester United job in recent months but it now seems unlikely he will take over at Old Trafford in the summer
11:43, 25 Mar 2026Updated 11:43, 25 Mar 2026
Roberto De Zerbi is no longer believed to in contention to land the Manchester United job(Image: David Horton/Getty Images)
Roberto De Zerbi is no longer believed to be in the running for the Manchester United job despite previously being shortlisted for the club’s head coach vacancy.
The highly-rated Italian, 46, was always likely to be in demand this summer given the number of Premier League jobs up for grabs and the impressive body of work he built up at Brighton during his two years on the south coast. And following United’s decision to sack Ruben Amorim at the start of January, De Zerbi has been strongly linked with the Old Trafford vacancy.
Michael Carrick has steadied the ship since taking charge until the end of the season and is now one of the contenders to land the head coach position on a permanent basis.
But De Zerbi will not be among them, with The i Paper reporting that his camp are under the impression that he is not currently a candidate to succeed Amorim.
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The former Marseille chief is of serious interest to Tottenham, though. And his willingness to take the job now, rather than waiting until the end of the season despite Spurs’ relegation fears, could see him beat Mauricio Pochettino to the job.
De Zerbi is said to be ‘relishing’ the prospect of taking over at Tottenham, who are just a point above the Premier League relegation zone. They could part company with their own interim boss, Igor Tudor, sooner than expected to facilitate a permanent appointment.
Michael Carrick is in pole position for the full-time Manchester United job (Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
It emerged earlier this week that Manchester United have yet to engage with any prospective manager targets – a significant boost for Carrick, who has impressed since taking control in mid-January.
The former United and Tottenham midfielder has lost just one of the 10 matches he has overseen, winning seven of them to significantly enhance the Red Devils’ prospects of securing Champions League qualification.
De Zerbi could replace Igor Tudor at Tottenham(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Sky Sports say that the powerbrokers at Manchester United are relaxed about the current managerial situation and are not planning to make a decision on their next move before the end of the season.
Oliver Glasner, who will leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Luis Enrique are among the coaches who have been linked with United in recent weeks.
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