Man United are in the process of finding their next manager but may well have another option to consider.

Right, listen. I know what you're thinking: 'What?! Marcelo Bielsa?! The man who has never won a major trophy in over thirty years of management?! The guy who has just been sacked by Leeds United, a team in free fall having conceded 40 goals in just 12 games and looking likely for the drop?! The fella who sits on a bucket?! The manager so married to his style of football that he will never compromise regardless of the opposition he may face or the trouble his team might be in?! A former Leeds manager!?"

And yes, that's the right man. Some criticisms of him may well be justified but others are ignorant. Manchester United should, at the very least, consider what he could bring to the club. They might just be surprised.

That's only if they fail to get their top targets, though. The search is well underway, as the Manchester Evening News reported in January, with United aiming to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's full-time replacement before the end of the season.

The issue with that aim is that the top contenders - Mauricio Pochettino and Erik Ten Hag - are both still in high profile jobs at giant European clubs and still pushing for trophies on multiple fronts. It seems unlikely that either will upset their chances of winning silverware by deviating their focus from the task at hand.

Even then, maybe United isn't much of an appealing role especially if Champions League football isn't assured. It would benefit both candidates to wait out the season and see just what job they'd be walking into Old Trafford before deciding if they wish to sip from the poisoned chalice.

Football director John Murtough provided an update on the search on Tuesday and said that the hunt would be 'thorough'. He said: "We are now conducting a thorough process for the appointment of a new permanent manager who will take charge this summer, with the objective to get us back to challenging for those domestic and European titles."

Yet there's no chance that the club will be able to assess the same number of managers as they did right-backs, with options dwindling in quantity and quality once you move past the leading candidates. If neither Pochettino or Ten Hag want the job, then United could be in bother.

Brendan Rodgers was liked but Leicester's form since those links first sprouted have put paid to that. Zinedine Zidane doesn't appear to fancy it. United have already turned down the chance to hire Antonio Conte. Ralf Rangnick hasn't yet done enough to make a permanent appointment seem wise.

The rest of the bookies' favourites seem either very fanciful - Diego Simeone, Julian Nagglesman - or ridiculous with the likes of Roberto Mancini, Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher and Roy Keane all making the list. So, yeah, Bielsa.

Bielsa may seem equally ridiculous to many. There's no doubt that hiring him would come with substantial risks. The Argentine has a tendency to butt heads with the powers at be at clubs and rarely stays long. He has just left Leeds with them perilously close to the drop. He hasn't won a top-flight league since the early 1990s with Newell's Old Boys and his other major success, aside from winning the Championship in some style with Leeds, came in the 2004 Olympics with his home country.

His lack of silverware leads to the biggest problem at all: it may be difficult for him to win over the players. It's the same problem Rangnick is having now. At Leeds, Bielsa was dealing with middling Championship players who were now starstruck by an international coach with new methods. At United, he would be dealing with pompous superstars who have proven time and again capable of throwing their coach under the bus before admitting and fixing their own faults.

But, and while it is of course a winning game and United desperately need to end their trophy drought, Bielsa is more than just medals. One just needs to look at the outpouring of grief from Leeds fans, players and the very man who sacked him to see that.

Manchester United shortlist Osimhen to booster attack

Super Eagles’ Striker, Victor Osimhen’s star has continued to rise. The 2015 U-17 World Cup winner, who moved from Lille of France to Italy’s Napoli for €75 million, has been earmarked by English giants, Manchester United, as the likely solution to their goal scoring problems, and therefore, a target for the summer transfer window.

According to reports from Italy, the Manchester United have inquired about Osimhen with a view to getting him to replace Anthony Martial, who is currently on loan to Sevilla.

To avoid any vacuum should Osimhen eventually join Manchester United, Napoli have already started sounding out potential replacements for the Nigerian, with Sassuolo’s Gianluca Scamacca their preferred replacement.

Scamacca is also a target of Italian champions, Inter Milan, according to reports. The Sassuolo hitman also prefers a move to Inter.

Napoli, according to cultofcalcio.com, want to keep Osimhen for another season in their bid to win the Italian Serie A and it would take a fee of €100 million to lure the Nigerian away from Naples.

Manchester United, two seasons ago, bidded for Osimhen when they had a strikers’ crisis, but the former Wolfsburg star rejected the overtures in deference to Odion Ighalo, who was then on loan at Old Trafford.

Raif Ragnick wants to change his attack, which currently has Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are over 34 years old.

According to Rai Sport, Manchester United will try to sign an elite striker in the summer, and Osimhen is second on their shortlist behind Harry Kane. It figures to be easier to convince Napoli rather than Tottenham, but not cheap.

Reports also say that Real Madrid are likewise eyeing Osimhen as an alternative to their top targets.