Roy Keane believes Eddie Howe’s calmness and experience should make him the perfect candidate to become the next Manchester United manager.
United chiefs are still deliberating on who should replace sacked Ruben Amorim in the short and long term.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the firm favourite to be appointed until the end of the season, while Oliver Glasner may become the next Manchester United manager on a long-term basis in the summer.
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes Keane should be given an opportunity to return to his former club.
Roy Keane calls for Eddie Howe at Manchester United
United are likely to wait until the summer when they can cast a wider net of managerial targets.
Glasner’s deal at Crystal Palace expires at the end of the season, while there are likely to be managerial changes following the World Cup.
The likes of England boss Thomas Tuchel have been linked with the position, alongside Aston Villa’s Unai Emery and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola.
However, Keane believes Newcastle boss Howe should be the club’s number one target.
He said on Monday Night Football: “I’d go with Eddie Howe. I like him. I like what he’s done.
“He’s managed a lot of games. When his teams are at it, they’ll play good football. He has his critics, but I like what he’s done at Newcastle.
“He’s managed seven or 800 games. He’s still a young man. I love his calmness. Maybe Man Utd need a little bit of that. We’ve seen with our previous [appointments], we like people with emotions, but he’s got that calmness.
“I like people with emotion. I’m quite an emotional person, but his calmness, what he’s done at Newcastle. Getting them into the Champions League, winning a Cup. I’d be happy to see him go in there.”
Eddie Howe responds to Manchester United links
Last week, Howe was quizzed on speculation linking him with the Red Devils, and while he admitted he was happy at Newcastle, he did hint that “things could change.”
He responded: “Nothing has changed from my perspective. I’m 100 per cent here, working as hard as I can, head down, ignoring all the stuff that you guys write, good or bad, because it’s irrelevant.
“It’s about today’s work and trying to prepare the team as well as we can for Leeds, so that will never change from my perspective, my commitment to my work and my job. As long as I’m happy and able to express myself in the best way that I can to help the team, nothing will change.”
When pressed further if a club such as Manchester United could turn his head, he replied: “No, not at this current time. The most important thing for me is happiness in the role, happiness in the job, the relationships I have with the people around me.
“Now, that’s not always been consistently good, and things can change at any football club. But, at the moment, I am very happy.”
