Matt Law: Manchester United Should Consider Diego Simeone

Manchester United should be looking at more options than just Jose Mourinho or Ryan Giggs if they choose to replace Louis van Gaal as manager, according to Matt Law.

Reports in Sunday's newspapers suggest it is now a battle between the former Chelsea boss and current United assistant manager for the top job at Old Trafford.

However, Law believes the club should at least be considering other options with Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and Juventus' Massimiliano Allegri two potential alternatives to the front-runners.

"It surprises me slightly that it seems to be Mourinho or Giggs," the Telegraph journalist told the Sunday Supplement.

"Simeone has a release contract at Atletico Madrid, I think they had a look at him before Van Gaal. I can't quite understand why he hasn't come into the picture.

"Allegri at Juventus is doing a great job, I can't quite understand why everything is concentrated so much on [Giggs and Mourinho].

"For me, Manchester United used to be the club who could go out and look at all the top candidates and it says a lot that they didn't even feel they could go for [Pep] Guardiola because he was so far down the line for Man City.

"Traditionally, you'd have thought United would be right in there for Guardiola."

While Giggs may be one of the favourites to take over if Van Gaal leaves, the Daily Mail's Martin Samuel and James Ducker of The Times have questioned whether he is the man the fans really want despite his legendary status as a player.

"You would think he would be the popular choice, Ryan Giggs, and Ollie Holt in the Mail on Sunday wrote a column a couple of weeks ago saying it should be Giggs," Samuel said.

"Manchester United, instead of importing a Guardiola type, should be creating their own Guardiola. I looked at that and thought, 'That'll strike a nerve with United fans, they'll all be behind this' but the reaction wasn't there.

"The great love and faith in Ryan Giggs I thought there would be wasn't there.

"It's almost as if he has been damaged in some way - in terms of being seen as the guy who can take the club forward - by sitting beside Louis van Gaal and David Moyes as it's all gone wrong.

"That might be very, very unfair on Giggs, he might have brilliant ideas that are completely at odds with Van Gaal's but it is very hard to sit alongside a guy for all this time and for people not to think, 'Well, what's he doing?'"

Ducker agreed and believes the job of restoring United to their former glories is a huge one, particularly for a first-time manager.

"Ryan Giggs would be taking over a squad that is arguably worse than the one that [Sir Alex] Ferguson left behind and everyone said needed urgent surgery," he added.

"It would be a huge job for a novice. The theory that Giggs would get a level of patience that another manager might not get, I'm not so sure. There doesn't seem to be a groundswell of support for him."

Credit: Skysports.com