Ryan Giggs, one of the most legendary of all Manchester United club legends, would no doubt relish the opportunity to manage his former club. The current Wales national team manager served as an assistant coach at Old Trafford under Louis van Gaal from 2014-16.
The Welshman also filled in as caretaker manager for four games when David Moyes was sacked in April of 2014. When Jose Mourinho replaced Van Gaal in 2016, there was no longer a place for Giggs at United, a club he had been with, in some capacity, for close to three decades.
During his final years with the club, there was plenty of talk that Giggs could be the next United manager, or at least the boss someday down the road. Mark Hughes, a former United player and ex-manager of several Premier League clubs, believes that the time for Giggs should soon come.
“I think Ryan is in a good place in his management career,” Hughes said to the BBC.
“He is on an upward trend. He is probably more likely to get an opportunity at United than he was when van Gaal left in 2016.
“Maybe they felt his management CV wasn’t strong enough at that point, but if he goes to the European Championship and does well, then there’s no reason why he won’t be in the frame.”
Hughes, 56, managed the Wales national team from 1999-2004, and his stint included mentoring Giggs while the winger was still in his playing career. Ryan Giggs spend 27 years with United, winning 13 league titles and two Champions League crowns.
He’s now 46, and has more managing experience under his belt than he did when when LVG got sacked. Hughes, whose last team managed was Southampton FC in 2018, believes that Giggs didn’t have the resume then, but he does now.
“Giggs worked very closely with Van Gaal, which I felt was a good decision,” Hughes added.
“I thought that was with a view to him taking over the role when Van Gaal left. It wasn’t to be, and they decided to go for a bigger name — Mourinho.”
“I think that was pushed maybe a little bit because of the appointment at City of Guardiola. Maybe they felt they needed like for like, which probably affected Ryan’s chances.”
Only time will tell when United will move on from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but his seat should continue to warm if MUFC’s atrocious start to the season persists. If OGS is sacked, Ryan Giggs would certainly face plenty of competition for the position, most notably (as of now) from former SOuthampton and Tottenham man Mauricio Pochettino.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.