"He's definitely got it"- Paul Merson believes Manchester United are 'missing a trick' by not signing Premier League manager

Paul Merson has urged Manchester United to appoint Graham Potter as their next manager. The Arsenal legend believes the Brighton and Hove Albion boss is capable of taking up a big job in the Premier League.

Manchester United appointed Ralf Rangnick as their interim manager after the sacking of Ole Gunner Solskjaer. The German will be stepping down from the role after the end of the season. The Red Devils have reportedly shortlisted Brendan Rodgers, Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag for the full-time managerial post.

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In his Daily Star column, Merson urged Manchester United to appoint Graham Potter as their next manager. He claimed the 'big clubs' generally overlook English managers but should not be making that mistake with the Brighton boss.

He wrote:

"Manchester United are missing a trick overlooking Graham Potter - and so is the rest of the Premier League. He's not going to be the next United manager. But say Brighton win the FA Cup this season, surely he's going to get offered a bigger job? It's like English managers don't exist for the big clubs, so they're hardly ever given a chance at the big jobs. But I think Potter is a great manager.

"Brighton gave Chelsea the absolute runaround the other week, went to Everton and won. They play nice football too. He's definitely got it. Didn't Pep Guardiola call him the best young coach in the country? What if he wins the FA Cup this season? Then his stock goes majorly through the roof. Brighton haven't won anything in god knows how long but they're not going down this season and should be prioritising an FA Cup run. If Potter somehow takes them all the way and lifts the trophy, he's off to a bigger job for sure."

Manchester United continue hunt for next manager

Manchester United were keen on appointing Rodgers or Pochettino as their manager last year following the sacking of Solskjaer.

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However, they could not convince the aforementioned managers to join and had to turn to Rangnick as their interim boss. Things have not improved at the club, and thus the prospect of the German continuing as manager seems unlikely.

About the author

Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist who has been with the company for around 10 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.

Sripad has been a Chelsea fan through and through since the age of 9 and can watch their 2012 Champions League triumph on repeat. The undisputed ‘GOAT’ according to him is Lionel Messi and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from popular European leagues, he also likes to follow other leagues like the MLS, Saudi Pro League, Eredivisie, and Liga MX.

Sripad believes in only using the right sources for his articles, and is an expert in understanding how to get the right quotes for each news to provide proper background information. His exploits have led him to become a popular figure in European Football and interviewing Premier League legends such as Alan Shearer, Shay Given, Paul Dickov, and John Barnes. His articles have been much revered amongst the football fraternity and have been shared by the likes of John Terry, Gary Lineker, and Declan Rice.

If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava