Man United legend Wayne Rooney joins clamour for Mauricio Pochettino to be next Old Trafford boss

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes Mauricio Pochettino should be the next manager at Old Trafford.

The Paris-Saint Germain boss and Ajax manager Erik ten Hag are reportedly battling it out to take over from interim Ralf Rangnick in the summer. 

Former United stars Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand have already voiced their support for the Argentine.

Wayne Rooney has urged Manchester United to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as manager

And Rooney, the club’s all-time greatest goalscorer, said he believed former Tottenham manager Pochettino was the man to revive the club’s fortunes.

Rooney told Sky Sports: ‘I think Pochettino’s done it in the Premier League.

‘He knows the Premier League. At Tottenham, he brought a lot of young players through, at Southampton as well.

PSG boss and Ajax manager Erik ten Hag (right) are reportedly battling it out for the job

‘If I’m choosing from one of them two, that’s who I’d choose,

‘I’d go with Pochettino, and give him time. For managers now, they need time to come in and actually put their blueprint on the club and the team, and if you give him time, I think he’ll do well.’

His admission comes amid reports United’s dressing room is split over the potential appointment of Ten Hag as the club’s next permanent manager.

The Ajax boss is the favourite to land the role ahead of other candidates including Pochettino.

Rooney believes Pochettino would be the better choice, as long as he was given sufficient time

The Manchester Evening News have reported that while some players are excited about the possibility of being coached by Ten Hag, others in the dressing room view him as an ‘underwhelming’ replacement to interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

As reported by Sportsmail in February, a number of players at the club would still like to see Pochettino get the role.

This is despite PSG’s recent collapse in the Champions League which saw them knocked out of the round of 16 by Real Madrid.

Former United players including Gary Neville and Nicky Butt have also given their backing to Pochettino, despite the former admitting that Ten Hag is the heavy favourite.