Thomas Tuchel over Oliver Glasner?! Crystal Palace boss not a frontrunner to land Man Utd job next summer despite pending exit

Reports state that Glasner informed his Crystal Palace squad on Friday of his intention to leave following the expiration of his contract at the end of the season. He would then launch a bombshell press conference where he not only confirmed this decision to the press, but also reveal that Marc Guehi is on the verge of joining Manchester City in a stunning double blow for the 2025 FA Cup winners.

While his main intention will no doubt have been to give the club and Eagles fans the opportunity to process and prepare to move on from the departure of arguably their greatest-ever manager, it can be argued that Glasner was also putting himself in the shop window for some of the biggest jobs in football which may become available in summer 2026. This, most notably, includes the Man United managerial position, with head coach Michael Carrick set to see his short-term role at the club finish at the end of the season.

The search is underway for United’s long-term successor to Carrick and according to reports by The i Paper, Glasner is not the frontrunner to become the next permanent manager at Old Trafford. Reporting states that England manager Thomas Tuchel and Marseille’s Roberto De Zerbi are both ahead of Glasner in the running, despite the fact that the former has a World Cup to manage until July, and the latter is currently in employment and would require compensation.

Part of the reason for this is said to be Palace’s poor run of recent form, with Glasner struggling to turn around a winless run of nine games which included arguably the greatest FA Cup shock in history in a 2-1 third-round defeat at National League North side Macclesfield FC. The run has seen Palace fall from top-six contention down into 13^th place in the league, while they are still just four points off United in seventh and can point towards fixture congestion and injuries as having played a key role in the slump.

Reporting continues that Old Trafford chiefs are looking for someone with Premier League experience – something all of Tuchel, De Zerbi and Glasner have – while an ambitious swoop for Luis Enrique has also been speculated, amidst uncertainty over his future at PSG.

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“I already informed the club months ago that I wanted a new challenge,” Glasner said in his press conference on Friday. “We had a very long talk, and I told him [chairman Steve Parish] I will not sign a new contract.

“We agreed at the time it was the best to keep it between us. It's the best that we could do that and keep it confidential for three months. But now it's important to have clarity, and we had a very busy schedule so that's why we didn't want to talk about it. Steve and I want the best for Crystal Palace.”

Glasner is likely to remain in the running for the vacancy at Old Trafford ahead of the summer, with the Old Trafford club focused on the success of newly appointed Carrick at present.

The fact that England manager Tuchel is reported to be at the top of United’s wish list should come as no great surprise given his previous links with the role ahead of the appointment of Ruben Amorim – former Germany international Didi Hamann even claimed the Old Trafford role is Tuchel’s “dream job” – but it would cause somewhat of a stir if the club were to spend a summer uncertainly waiting on the future of Tuchel, snubbing the chance to appoint Glasner in the process.