Man Utd ‘working’ on Ruben Amorim sack as favourite from three-man replacement shortlist named | OneFootball

Manchester United are starting to look at potential replacements for Ruben Amorim and favour one manager out of three targets, it has been claimed.

Man Utd suffered a new setback on Tuesday night as they were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by the Premier League’s bottom club, Wolverhampton Wanderers. United were expected to breeze past winless Wolves, who had not picked up a point since October 5, but they ultimately lost ground in the race for European qualification.

Amorim’s side had beaten Wolves 4-1 at Molineux on December 8, and they took the lead at Old Trafford through Joshua Zirkzee. His shot deflected past Jose Sa after good work by Ayden Heaven.

Benjamin Sesko hit the post from a corner before Ladislav Krejci equalised for the visitors just before half time. Sesko missed a great chance after the break, while Sa had to claw a misplaced defensive header off the line.

United goalkeeper Senne Lammens pulled off a remarkable double save to keep his team level in the 64th minute, and Patrick Dorgu had a late winner ruled out for offside.

United’s players were booed off at full time, with the shock draw leaving them in sixth place on 30 points.

The Red Devils have made progress this campaign, though there have also been damaging results against Grimsby Town, Manchester City, Brentford, West Ham United and now Wolves.

According to CaughtOffside, Man Utd chiefs ‘have begun working on plans’ to potentially replace Amorim in the near future.

INEOS ‘publicly maintain that Amorim remains their man’, but ‘contingency plans are quietly being explored behind the scenes’.

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is among those being ‘discussed internally’, and he is said to be ‘leading the race’ to take over from Amorim.

The report names Xavi and Andoni Iraola as two other candidates for the United job. Xavi has been out of work since leaving Barcelona in June 2024, while Iraola has developed a fantastic reputation at Bournemouth.

Oliver Glasner stalling on new Crystal Palace contract

Returning to Glasner, we revealed on Boxing Day that he has rejected a contract offer from Palace. With his current terms expiring at the end of the season, Palace are at growing risk of losing their mastermind without any compensation fee.

Sources have confirmed to us that United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are all keeping tabs on Glasner’s situation.

Not only has the 51-year-old improved Palace in the league, he also guided them to the FA Cup in May – their first ever major trophy.

Although, our transfer insider Dean Jones confirmed on December 1 that Amorim is likely to remain in charge of United until the end of the campaign at least.

That stance will only change if United suffer a disastrous start to 2026.

Man Utd news: Bundesliga target; shock return

Meanwhile, United are sounding out alternative winger targets after missing out on Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City.