John Obi Mikel has told Manchester United to forget a pair of managers and hand “the f***ing keys” to Unai Emery, along with an “open chequebook.”

Emery is one of a number of names linked with the United job. He joins the likes of Fabian Hurzeler, Antonio Conte, Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann in terms of potential new managers.

It was felt that the Red Devils would be on the hunt for their next boss this week, with Michael Carrick’s latest loss in charge leaving the club 16th in the Premier League and the manager seemingly out of his depth.

The aforementioned managers were all mentioned, and though talks took place surrounding Carrick’s future, he has remained in charge.

He took training on Tuesday and will be in the dugout for the trip to Chelsea on Saturday.

But if United are to make a change at some point, Mikel thinks the two men linked most often, Howe and Nagelsmann, should be overlooked for Emery.

He said on The Obi One Podcast: “Neither. I would go for Unai Emery. I don’t think he leaves [Aston Villa] but listen, if you give him the f***ing keys.

“If you give him an open chequebook and say: ‘Listen, Unai, we don’t want to go down this route anymore, we’re tired, the fans are sick and tired of what’s happening at the football club. We want to press the reset button and believe you are the man.'”

Unai Emery won’t leave Aston Villa

The chances of Emery heading to United seem very slim, with Sky Sports recently reporting: ‘Emery, we have been told, remains committed to the project at Aston Villa.’

That came after Jamie Carragher, like Mikel, revealed he felt Emery would be the best man for United.

He said: “He is a manager I look at when I think about Manchester United. I think Emery is the best manager in the Premier League. But I’ve got this thing with him.

“Yes, his record in the Europa League is amazing, but surely somebody who is that successful wants to be known in the Champions League.

“He wants to win the Champions League. He’s not going to do that at Aston Villa.

“He’s had two experiences that haven’t gone particularly well for him, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.

“And I just think surely he would want that opportunity to prove himself at an absolute giant of a football club. Sorry, Villa fans.”