Brendan Rodgers has been backed to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United and would need to “usher” club legend Cristiano Ronaldo out of Old Trafford.
That is according to former West Ham star Carlton Cole, who believes Rodgers “wants to build for the future” and Ronaldo wouldn’t fit in his long-term plans.
United announced on Sunday that Solskjaer had been sacked after Watford’s thumping 4-1 win at Vicarage Road.
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Former United star Michael Carrick will take charge of the team while the club search for a new interim manager to lead the Red Devils to the end of the season.
The Red Devils are seventh in the league table and have fallen six points behind the top four, with United winning once in their last five fixtures across all competitions.
Rodgers has been linked with the United hot seat alongside several other candidates, including Zinedine Zidane and Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.
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Cole believes that the Leicester City manager is the “right man” for United and he would “eradicate” players who don’t fit a certain formation or system.
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But the ex-striker made a bold claim that Rodgers should axe Ronaldo from United, with the Red Devils heavily linked with Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham.
“Leicester fans are going to hate me for this one but I feel Brendan Rodgers could go in and I feel he would be the right man for the Man United job,” Cole told talkSPORT.
“Get rid of Ronaldo, he’s [Rodgers] going to have to usher him out.
“The reason why, because if you have someone like Brendan he wants to build for the future. They’ve got a few prospects in that team that have not even played yet, very good players, and there’s talk of Jude Bellingham coming in as well. You’ve got to plan for the future -- is Ronaldo the future of Man United?
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“We know how he wants to play, Brendan Rodgers, he loves the high press, he loves the high energy, working off the ball, he loves that.
“He’ll eradicate the players that are not fitting into that formation or system, he has to otherwise he’s going against his own morals.”
Ronaldo made his sensational return to Old Trafford in the summer and made an immediate impact with a brace on his second debut against Newcastle.
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The 36-year-old Portuguese superstar, who is under contract until 2023, has scored nine times and registered two assists in 13 appearances for United this season.
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Rodgers arrived at Leicester in 2019 after leading Celtic to back-to-back trebles during his first two seasons in Glasgow.
The 48-year-old has been widely praised for his work at Leicester, with the Foxes narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification in the 2020-21 season.
United will travel to the El Madrigal in Spain on Tuesday for their Champions League clash with Villarreal.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Brendan Rodgers, Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, Premier League, England, Football