LONDON • Massimiliano Allegri wants to be considered for the Manchester United manager's job when it becomes available at the end of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham manager, remains United's first choice but other candidates, including the Juventus coach, have not been ruled out.
United are committed to conducting what club officials have called a "thorough and extensive" recruitment process to determine who should succeed caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Allegri, 51, led Juventus to four successive Serie A titles and took the Italian club to the Champions League final in 2015 and 2017.
The Times of London reported that he is understood to have been taking English lessons and would like to work in the Premier League. The Italian is particularly keen on taking the job at Old Trafford, which is vacant after the sacking of Jose Mourinho earlier this month.
Diego Simeone, the Atletico Madrid manager, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate.
Solskjaer, meanwhile, has claimed comprehensive victories over Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town in his first two matches in charge, but it is understood that the chances of the Molde manager being given the job full time are slim.
The Norwegian club have insisted that the former United striker will return to his role in May.
Striker Marcus Rashford has played well in Solskjaer's first two league games, scoring the first goal of his reign against Cardiff and nearly setting up Diogo Dalot for a goal against Huddersfield.
Still, Solskjaer believes that Rashford can improve and, having scored 126 goals for the club himself, intends to give some advice to the 21-year-old on how he can become more ruthless.
"The speed is his strength. I'm going to work on his finishing. He just has to calm down a bit," Solskjaer told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.
"He has a good shot from outside the box. Within the box he must work to keep calm and just aim to put the ball past the goalkeeper."
The 45-year-old is also expecting a far tougher challenge when United host Bournemouth in the league tomorrow and when they travel to Newcastle on Wednesday.
"With all due respect to Huddersfield, the two battles against Bournemouth and Newcastle will be more difficult," he said.
Paul Pogba, who had a turbulent relationship with Mourinho, has found a new lease of life under Solskjaer with two assists and two goals in his last two starts.
"He's very important for us and when he plays at his best, he can make the difference in every game," midfielder Nemanja Matic said of his teammate.
"He played very well against Huddersfield but I think that he can do even more. Slowly, game by game he can improve. It was very important for him to score some goals."
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