Bengaluru, January 2: Ed Woodward has selected a five-man shortlist to select the next permanent manager of Manchester United and Red Bull Salzburg manager Marco Rose has reportedly made the list.

Manchester United are on the lookout for a permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho who was sacked last month after a two and a half year stint.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken up the caretaker role until the summer and could be in contention to land the job full-time if he keeps up the club’s run of good form, but Woodward still wants to keep the search open till everything settles down.

It's no secret that the United CEO is hell bent on appointing Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino next season, but as a backup, he reportedly has also put on three more names including Solskjaer.

Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane and former Paris Saint-German boss Laurent Blanc are both said to be on the shortlist but as a fifth choice, Woodward has put RB Salzburg's boss Marco Rose in contention.

United’s five-man shortlist for the manager’s job:

Mauricio Pochettino
Laurent Blanc
Zinedine Zidane
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Marco Rose

Pochettino is the number one target. #mufc [Neil Ashton]

— United Xtra (@utdxtra) January 1, 2019

The German manager who made his way up through the youth ranks in the Austrian side has been in charge of the senior side since 2017 and had led them to a league title last year. He followed that by reaching the Europa League semi-final last year.

They are still going strong this season as well as they topped the group which included RB Leipzig, Celtic and Rosenborg. They will face Club Brugge in the next round. They are also unbeaten and 14 points clear off the table this term and look to replicate the same feat again.

United have reportedly been impressed by Rose’s efforts at Red Bull Salzburg, and members of the board apparently consider the 42-year-old as a serious candidate.

Moreover, with the German has earned plenty of plaudits for his attacking brand of football, hence the management apparently see him as a potential choice to carry forward the Red Devils legacy although only as backup option of the above-mentioned names.

United have not had a stable manager for three seasons in a row since Ferguson's retirement. David Moyes lasted less than a year and after that Ryan Giggs took temporary charge, followed by Louis van Gaal who also served only for two seasons.

Mourinho lasted the longest of any manager in the last six years, but was dismissed from the role two weeks ago after coming under increasing pressure for performance and dressing room issues.