Manchester United have approached Carlo Ancelotti to see if he’d be willing to take over the club when Louis van Gaal leaves, according to Tancredi Palmeri on Whoscored.
The Italian journalist writes that ‘the moment is not favourable for United’, with Van Gaal installed at Old Trafford until the end of next season, but claims that the approach shows that United have made some big decisions about their future direction.
Van Gaal has said on multiple occasions that he will leave management altogether at the end of his contract at Old Trafford in the summer of 2017, leaving United with a clear timescale in which to plan their future recruitment of a successor.
It’s understood that they’ve approached Ancelotti so far in advance due to rumours of the Italian taking over at Bayern Munich if Pep Guardiola were to take over from Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City in the summer – the merry-go-round of managerial changes starting up due to the lack of highly respected managers currently plying their trade in Europe.
It’s suggested in Palmeri’s piece that United could jettison Van Gaal a season early – as soon as this summer – if Ancelotti is unwilling to remain out of employment for another full season in order to take a high-pressure job where success is far from guaranteed.
Another factor in United’s haste to secure a successor to Van Gaal is their own recent history, having gone through major turmoil when they made the apparent panic-appointment of David Moyes in 2013 after Sir Alex Ferguson left the club and retired from football.
Moyes’ reign was nothing short of disastrous, taking the club from Premier League champions to 7th place in the league and missing out on European places entirely. Another season of that, the club’s bosses believe, would be unbearable for both players and fans.