Even as the news that the once-mighty Red Devils have finally decided that Erik ten Hag will take over from caretaker manager Ralf Rangnick, the social media rumour mill was punting the name of one Greek-Australian, Ange Postecoglou, as the ideal man to revive Manchester United.

In recent months the speculation had settled on Ten Hag of Ajax Amsterdam and Mauricio Pochettino of Paris St Germain as the likely contenders for the Manchester United position that has not been adequately filled since the retirement of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. On Thursday, Ten Hag’s appointment was confirmed by a number of media outlets.

But in the last few days, rumours on social media have circulated that Postecoglou who has dramatically reversed the fortunes of Scottish giants Celtic FC in just his first year, has been namedropped as another viable option for United. Nothing, however, has been confirmed by Postecoglou or United.

No doubt the talk was inspired by his team’s success over last season’s champions, Glasgow Rangers, on Sunday. That 2-1 victory has given Celtic a six-point lead at the top of the table with just six games remaining in the season.

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Images and posts linking Postecoglou to Manchester United appeared on social media this week, with one Manuel Plomari posting with authority that the two managers being considered were Ten Hag and Postecoglou adding: “The Manchester United board believes that Ange would be better suited to the job, as the Greek Australian played a style of football that captured the imagination throughout his career. He also backed youth – something that is seen as crucial on the red half of Manchester.”

Another post shows Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola next to Postecoglou with a United badge pasted on and the words “Manchester Derby” straddling both images.

It all could have been dismissed as wishful thinking however New York Times‘ pundit Rory Smith who told BBC 5 Live Sport that Manchester City admired Postecoglou and were keeping an eye on his achievements in Scotland:

“Ange Postecoglou is not going to get the Man City job, but there are a lot of people at City who really rate him. That actually says all you need to know about how well regarded he is within coaching circles. He worked for Yokohama Marinos which is the City Football Group team in the J-League. They think he’s really, really good,” Smith was reported as saying.

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According to FoxSports.com, Smith said that it was “not impossible” that City would pick him to replace Pep Guardiola when he decided to leave.

Smith added, however, that Postecoglou’s lack of Champions League experience could count against him.