Rudi Garcia's 'perfect' attribute impresses Man Utd chiefs during manager talks

French boss Rudi Garcia has reportedly impressed Manchester United chiefs during his interview to become the club's new interim manager.

Garcia is among a host of names said to have been sounded out for the job by the United board, with ex-Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde, former Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre, perennial Premier League managerial candidate Paulo Fonseca and the veteran coach Ralf Rangnick, who is currently head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow, also believed to have been approached.

New names are almost certain to appear on the list of candidates until United manage to identify the right man, with Mauricio Pochettino still the club's ideal long-term appointment.

However, with Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino believed to be off-limits until the end of the season at the earliest, United chiefs have been left looking for an experienced pair of hands to take over from the sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until the summer.

Garcia, 57, would appear to fit the bill thanks to his long career in European football.

Having cut his managerial teeth in the French lower leagues, he took his first Ligue 1 job with Saint-Etienne in 2001.

Then after spells with Dijon, whom he helped get promoted, and Le Mans, it was at Lille where Garcia made his name as a top flight-boss after he joined them in 2008.

He guided Les Dogues to the Ligue 1 and French Cup double in 2011, before moving on to Roma two years later.

After three seasons in Serie A he moved back to France with Marseille, taking them to the 2018 Europa League final, before two years with Lyon which ended this summer.

Respected French sports daily L'Equipe admit that Garcia is not one of the favourites for the Old Trafford hotseat, but say that his "perfect command of English" has impressed the United chiefs as they search for their new boss.

Zinedine Zidane's lack of English was said to be something that counted against him getting the role, although he has since emerged as the favourite for the PSG job should Pochettino eventually join United.

For now, former Red Devils midfielder Michael Carrick is in caretaker charge of the club, and picked up a win in his first game in charge at Vilarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, a first for the club, secured a 2-0 victory, and Carrick was delighted with the win.

"We were ready for it tonight," he said.

"They are a good team who make you work in possession.

"The boys had to dig in at times and showed a little bit of everything, so I was delighted with the way it ended.

"When you have suffered results-wise and are not in good form, individually and as a team, it is not easy to come out and just let everything click.

"In some ways it was the best way to win for me, that we had to show some character and fight."