David Ornstein insists that Ruud van Nistelrooy is a serious contender in the race to become Manchester United’s next interim manager.

The Premier League giants wielded the axe on Ruben Amorim’s turbulent 14-month tenure at the helm on Monday, and temporarily replaced him with Man Utd U18 head coach Darren Fletcher.

The Scotsman was in the dugout against Burnley on Wednesday, and he’s expected to remain in charge until the FA Cup tie against Brighton on Sunday. However, a more experienced interim coach is expected to arrive afterwards.

Van Nistelrooy joins Solskjaer & Carrick in the running for interim Man Utd role

Over the past few days, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer emerged as the top contender for the role. The Norwegian is a United legend, and had the longest managerial tenure at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson, taking over from Jose Mourinho in December 2018, and remaining at the helm until his sacking in November 2021.

Photo by @ManUtd

Solskjaer’s main contender for the role is none other than his former assistant, Michael Carrick, who then acted as caretaker for a few matches following the Norwegian’s sacking, before making way for Ralf Rangnick.

Several sources also claimed that Solskjaer and Carrick could rekindle their old partnership, with the Englishman acting as the 52-year-old’s assistant once more.

During his appearance on NBC Sports Soccer, British journalist David Ornstein confirmed that Solskjaer is indeed a strong candidate for the role, but this also applies to Carrick, who must not be written off.

On a more interesting note, The Athletic’s football correspondent identifies Van Nistelrooy as another name in the running.

@David_Ornstein: “Everybody was saying it's [Manchester United Caretaker role] going to go to Solskjaer. It may he's a strong contender, but so is Michael Carrick. We must not write him off in this situation.

There is a third name in the frame, and that's Ruud van Nistelrooy.… pic.twitter.com/IsHm6MPgsy

— MUFC Scoop (@MUFCScoop) January 8, 2026

Ruud van Nistelrooy given a boost thanks to his existing relationship with Jason Wilcox

The legendary Dutch striker also has experience as Man Utd caretaker, filling the void left by Erik ten Hag’s sacking in October 2024, before Amorim’s arrival. The 49-year-old was hoping to stay at Carrington as part of the new technical staff, but the Portuguese manager had other plans.

Van Nistelrooy then had a disappointing short tenure at Leicester, but Ornstein believes he could have an important advantage over Solskjaer and Carrick, because he already knows the club’s technical director, Jason Wilcox, having worked together last season.

Man Utd Managers EPL Matches in Charge Points Average Sir Alex Ferguson 810 2.16 Ruud van Nistelrooy (caretaker) 2 2.00 Michael Carrick (caretaker) 2 2.00 Jose Mourinho 93 1.89 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 109 1.81 Louis van Gaal 76 1.79 Ryan Giggs (caretaker) 4 1.75 Erik ten Hag 85 1.72 David Moyes 34 1.68 Ralf Rangnick 24 1.54 Ruben Amorim 47 1.23

Stats by StatMuse

Therefore, a meeting won’t be necessary, unlike the two other candidates who aren’t familiar with the former Man City official.

Orsntein believes the final decision should come to light next week, which should finally dispel all the confusion engulfing Carrington at the moment.

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