Erik ten Hag has departed Manchester United following his side's poor start to the new Premier League season.
The Dutchman has been at the club for the past two and a half years and survived speculation that he was due to be dismissed at the end of last season after pulling off a surprise FA Cup Final victory over Manchester City. However, United have started this season poorly and sit 14th in the Premier League table after nine games following their late defeat to West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.
So who might be in line to replace ten Hag as the next permanent Manchester United manager? Here's the odds as provided by SkyBet and correct as of 12:15pm on Monday October 28.
Next Manchester United manager odds after Erik ten Hag departure
Favourite: Ruud van Nistelrooy (2/5)
Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been placed already been confirmed to be in interim charge of the first team after returning to the club as ten Hag's assistant in the summer.
That appointment had led people to speculate that van Nistelrooy might be being lined up as a longer-term successor to his compatriot, especially given he already has top-flight management experience with PSV Eindhoven.
Unsurprisingly, then, the bookies currently seem to view the job as van Nistelrooy's to lose, installing him as the odds-on favourite with the rest of the field currently seen as much longer shots.
Other strong runners: Gareth Southgate and Ruben Amorim (7/2)
Gareth Southgate is not a new name when it comes to the job at Old Trafford: there were reports before this summer's Euros that new United shareholders INEOS were keen to agree a deal for the then-England manager to take over as United boss after the Euros.
Southgate subsequently stood down as England boss following their defeat to Spain in the final - but did say earlier this month that he intended to take a year out from football.
Level pegging with Southgate in the bookies' eyes is Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, who was strongly linked with the Liverpool job before they hired Arne Slot earlier this year. Amorim took Sporting to the league title in impressive style last season, the second time he has laid hands on the trophy in his fourth-year spell as gaffer.
Other potential candidates for the Manchester United job
Ian Wright recently threw his weight behind Brentford boss Thomas Frank – ranked at no.30 in FourFourTwo's list of the best managers in the world right now – as being the manager the next big Premier League club should turn to, believing he could be a Jurgen Klopp in waiting.
Frank is rated at 7/1 - though he said last week about the prospect of leaving for a 'bigger' job: "For sure, if I ever got the offer to go to a big club and I decided to go there, it would probably not make my life better. I think we all know that. Maybe it is a challenge you need to try. It is not something I am thinking about."
Graham Potter is also at 7/1 having been available since leaving Chelsea 18 months ago, and said last month he is ready to return to management after a bit of a sabbatical.
Former Barcelona midfielder-turned-manager Xavi might also be in with a shout: he left the club after announcing he would leave at the end of the season, then offering to reverse his decision and extend his contract, then getting sacked anyway. Xavi managed Barca to the 2022/23 league title having first cut his teeth managing in Qatar.
Former United midfielder and caretaker boss Michael Carrick is at 8/1, having been at Middlesbrough for the past two years; they are currently 9th in the Championship.
Ipswich boss and former United coach Kieran McKenna is as 12/1, while former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic is 14/1 and title-winning Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi is 18/1.
