Sir Alex Ferguson's successor: the contenders – in pictures

Jürgen Klopp Acclaimed for his outstanding work at Borussia Dortmund, where he has won two Bundesliga titles and developed an exciting young team which plays an incisive brand of attacking football in keeping with Manchester United's own traditions, Klopp is viewed as one of the most talented young coaches in Europe. His five years at Dortmund have yielded remarkable success and there could yet be a European Cup to add to the collection Photograph: Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images

José Mourinho One of the early favourites for the position. A track record of success, both in England and overseas, and one of the few candidates who would not be intimidated by the prospect of taking over from Ferguson and managing a club of United's stature. There are doubts, though, as to whether Sir Bobby Charlton, a United director and ambassador who has considerable influence at the club, would throw his full support behind Mourinho's appointment. When asked about Mourinho's gouging of the eye of Tito Vilanova in 2011, Charlton said: “A United manager wouldn't do that” Photograph: DANI POZO/AFP/Getty Images

David Moyes Long been touted as a potential successor to Ferguson, it is surely now or never for Moyes when it comes to the job at Old Trafford. The two Scots have a close relationship and Ferguson has described Moyes as a “first-class manager” who has “done an amazing job” at Goodison Park, where he has operated within tight financial constraints. Moyes, though, has only one FA Cup final appearance to show for his 11 years at Everton and is also short of Champions League experience, which could count against him
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer One of the most popular players to pull on a United shirt and has already made a highly impressive start to his managerial career, leading Molde to back-to-back titles in Norway. Solskjaer, who managed United's reserve team when his playing career came to an end, spoke earlier this year about his desire to take over at Old Trafford one day. “Maybe it sounds stupid but my dream is to manage United ... I worked with Alex Ferguson for 15 seasons as a player and then as reserve-team coach. His methodology has influenced my philosophy. Almost everything I know I learned from Sir Alex” Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images

Laurent Blanc Spent the last two years of his playing career working under Ferguson at Old Trafford and took little time to carve out a reputation in the world of management. Named French manager of the year in 2008, after taking over at Bordeaux that season, and won the club their first title in a decade 12 months later. Ferguson, however, felt that Blanc made a mistake by taking the France national team job – he replaced Raymond Domenech in 2010 - so early in his management career. Blanc stepped down from that role after an uninspiring Euro 2012
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Ryan Giggs As well as helping United to the 13th title of his extraordinary Old Trafford career, Giggs has been working assiduously to pick up his coaching qualifications and hopes to have completed the Uefa pro licence by the end of the year, which would allow him to manage at the top level. Giggs, though, has suggested he would prefer to serve an “apprenticeship” first, which tallies with Ferguson's own view. The United manager said only two months ago that the youth team and the reserves is the place for someone like Giggs or Paul Scholes to start their managerial career, insisting that it would be unfair to view them as his successor. “I don't want to put them under that kind of pressure,” Ferguson told L'Equipe. “I think an experienced coach is needed to succeed me” Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

Michael Laudrup The Dane would have been nowhere near the the list of potential candidates 12 months ago but it is a measure of how well he has done since taking over at Swansea last summer that his name is now linked with any of the top jobs that come available. His fine-tuning of Swansea's passing philosophy, which has added a cutting edge to their play, has brought unprecedented success to the Welsh club, including a first major trophy and the prospect of a top-10 finish in the Premier League. The big question is whether he could translate that blueprint to the highest level
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Carlo Ancelotti The Italian has a glittering CV, which includes a domestic double in England, and has been there and done it when it comes to managing big clubs and big players. He has described Ferguson as an inspiration and “the coach I appreciate the most”, yet it seems highly unlikely that he will be his replacement at Old Trafford. The 53-year-old is widely expected to leave Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid at the end of the season, which means if there is a former Chelsea manager at Old Trafford next season it will almost certainly be Mourinho Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

Jupp Heynckes The German has never really had the recognition he deserves during 31 years in management, although his stock could not be higher right now. Bayern Munich's 7-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals will go down as a seminal moment in football. Heynckes could yet finish the season with an historic treble, which would be some way to go out and leave Pep Guardiola with an incredibly difficult task to follow. There will be no shortage of job offers in the summer, although his age would be a major obstacle in terms of the United position. At 67, Heynckes is only four years younger than Ferguson Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images