Gary Neville has agreed with former team-mate Roy Keane that Manchester United should target Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone to become the club's next manager.
United, who crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday evening to Atletico at Old Trafford, are yet to source a permanent replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who was sacked back in November. Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, who is understood to be United's preferred candidate, and Mauricio Pochettino have been sounded out as the frontrunners for the position.
They have been linked with the role for several months and no other names, certainly not with any credibility, have been connected with the job. However, Simeone, after guiding Atletico to a 2-1 aggregate win over United, has been linked with the job in the last few days.
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And former United man Neville, who recently predicted that Ten Hag will land the job over Pochettino, believes Simeone would be a suitable fit. He has described the lively Argentine as being a "tough manager," insisting that is what the Reds need.
"Diego Simeone should be a candidate, but it's never been achievable to get him out of Atletico Madrid," said Neville. "He is wedded in there, he is tied.
"But it would be brilliant to see him in the Premier League, you saw on Tuesday night, I've seen it many times – I got beaten 2-0 in Valencia by his brilliant Atletico Madrid team that [Antoine] Griezmann was in before he went to Barcelona.
"He is a fantastic coach, brutal in how he approaches the game, I think in every single way. He's tough, and Manchester United need a tough manager."
Recently, fellow former United star Keane also outlined his views for why Simeone would be suitable to succeed Ralf Rangnick ahead of the start of next season. The Irishman, like, Neville addressed his no-nonsense approach and the type of character that he is.
"Maybe Simeone, he's the right kind of character," Keane said, speaking at The Overlap Live last month. "He's having a difficult spell with Atletico.
"His race has maybe run with them. Simeone, go and get him, he's a big character.
"He's done great things. He's a great character, a big personality.
"He doesn't mess around with players. Maybe someone like him coming into the club could work."
United's recent managerial appointments have come in the form of sourcing bosses out-of-work at the time or coming towards the end of their contracts. However, Keane, pointing out how United are not afraid to spend big-money on players, believes they should break the bank to bring in Simeone.
"If you look at United in the last few years, David Moyes' contract was up at Everton," Keane added. "Louis van Gaal was available and didn't cost any compensation.
"Jose Mourinho was available and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pretty straightforward. It's as if [United] won't go to prise a top manager away from a club.
"People say, 'well, he's already tied up with a club'. But if you really want a manager, the same as you want a player, you go and get him.
"You go and get the manager you think is the right manager for your club. None of this, 'he’s not available for two years'.
"If he's the right manager for Man United, go and get him. Pay the money, whatever it takes. Because you pay fortunes for players.
"He's done great things. Big character, big personality, doesn't mess around with players. Go and get Simeone."
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