‘A world-class coach and proven winner’

Manchester United have been urged to include former Man City boss Roberto Mancini to their managerial shortlist as they seek to find a successor to interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

Mancini has been described as a ‘proven winner’ and perfectly suited to the Old Trafford job, with doubts over his future in charge of the Italy national team.

Mancini led Italy to Euro 2020 success last summer but remains coy on his future in the role after the Azzurri’s stunning World Cup failure.

The 57-year-old could only watch as his side were dumped out World Cup play-offs with a 1-0 defeat by North Macedonia – as Italy failed to reach the finals for the second successive time.

United have been linked with Ajax manager Erik ten Haag and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino in recent weeks after beginning their search for their next permanent head coach.

However, speaking on talkSPORT’s Drivetime, Darren Bent claimed United chiefs should target a move for Mancini, who was linked with the Red Devils job last year.

“He has proved he can do it in this country and I think it is vital that he has that Premier League experience,” said the former striker and Premier League 100 club member.

“He has gone on to win a massive trophy with Italy in the Euros, so you can’t question his pedigree in terms of winning things.

“If you’re looking for a winner, I suppose the counter argument is that people will say Jose [Mourinho] was a winner and it ended quite badly. He did win trophies for United, but people would say he left the club in a worst state.”

Mancini’s Man City links, having led United’s noisy neighbours to their first ever Premier League title in 2011/12, would be an obvious stumbling block when it comes to supporters.

But Bent insists it shouldn’t be enough to stop him from getting the job.

“It would be a big deal, him obviously winning Manchester City their first Premier League title, to then go to United,” the talkSPORT pundit added.

“But we have seen managers do this before.”

Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy also claimed on the Sports Bar that Mancini would be a great fit for the Old Trafford job.

“He is a winner,” said the host.

“People will get messages and they will say, ‘well he isn’t a winner, he has just lost with Italy to try and reach the World Cup’, but if you look at his managerial record in terms of club level, he has won everything.

“Coppa Italia with Fiorentina and Lazio, Serie A three times with Inter Milan, obviously he won the Premier League with Man City.

“Why would Manchester United not want a winner? He should be in the conversation.

“I understand when things do go wrong, they can turn bad quite quickly, but Mancini is a world-class manager.

“I think if you get him in it goes right. I believe he would have done a better job than [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer in a quicker time.”