The Athletic - Chaos at Manchester United, Howe the favourite: two problems for Nagelsmann and Conte

Each potential candidate presents difficulties, with one part of the chain of command struggling to align with the others.

The split is between the views of the man at the top, Sir Jim Ratcliff, the director of the sporting department, Jason Wilcox, and Michael Sansoni, the director of data and artificial intelligence, whose influence over the club's decisions keeps growing.

Club sources have told The Athletic that the current favourite is Eddie Howe. The former Newcastle manager left in turbulent circumstances and is seen as the perfect man to revive a struggling club, just as he did with the Magpies.

After Erik ten Hag's departure, then sporting director Dan Ashworth had already recommended Howe to Manchester United, but Ratcliffe preferred to pay Amorim's release clause. The fallout led to the English executive's departure just a month after that decision.

Yesterday, Thursday 22 October, Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler and Julian Nagelsmann, available after leaving the German national team, emerged as candidates.

Hurzeler ruled himself out as soon as the rumours emerged. United's head of personnel Christopher Vivell is pushing for Nagelsmann, while sporting director Jason Wilcox, with whom Vivell is often at odds, is pushing for Howe.

Finally, Antonio Conte has made it clear he is open to Manchester United, but he has also set out how he would handle the dressing room and transfers.

The former Napoli manager, who is also strongly linked with a return to Juventus, believes the squad needs a tougher approach and would not want the club's management to interfere if he were appointed.

Because of that, Data and AI director Michael Sansoni believes appointing Conte would carry a high risk of disagreements with the club's management.