Ruud van Nistelrooy is OUT of the running to take interim charge at Manchester United until the end of the season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick now remain as the top two candidates to take over.

United's chief executive, Omar Berrada, and director of football, Jason Wilcox, spoke to both contenders on Tuesday. They will now meet with each of them again before deciding which of the pair will return to Old Trafford. Darren Fletcher is currently in situ in a caretaker role.

Carrick is receiving serious consideration, having previously been interim boss and done a decent job in his first permanent role at Middlesbrough. Solskjaer, however, emerged as the leading contender after being spotted in Cheshire on Tuesday.

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Both have previously taken charge of the team in similar circumstances. Solskjaer did so in December 2018 after United sacked Jose Mourinho and won his first eight matches across all competitions.

The Norwegian manager then signed a three-year contract three months into his return. His tenure ended in November 2021, and his sacking led Carrick to take charge of three matches.

United appointed Ralf Rangnick for the remainder of the season, rather than retaining their former player. Carrick soon left his role as first-team coach under the German coach.

His managerial career continued the following year after being appointed by Middlesbrough. After two-and-a-half seasons with the Championship club, they parted company last summer.