Gary Neville identifies Diego Simeone as ‘brutal’ manager Man Utd should consider as Ten Hag rumours mount

Gary Neville has identified Diego Simeone as a ‘brutal’ manager Manchester United should consider hiring this summer.

The former Red Devils defender thinks the Atletico Madrid boss’ style of management is what United need in order to ‘compete’ with Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.

"Diego Simeone should be a candidate, but it’s never been achievable to get him out of Atletico Madrid,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

"He is wedded in there, he is tied. But it would be brilliant to see him in the Premier League, you saw on Tuesday night, I’ve seen it many times – I got beaten 2-0 in Valencia by his brilliant Atletico Madrid team that [Antoine] Griezmann was in before he went to Barcelona.

"Fantastic coach, brutal in how he approaches the game, I think in every single way. He’s tough, and Manchester United need a tough manager.

"Manchester United need a manager who can compete with Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola – they’re the best, so they need someone who can stand on that touchline and feel equal to them and I think Simeone could.”

However, Neville knows how hard it would be to lure Simeone from Atletico given his almost 11-year association with the Spanish club, claiming the Red Devils would have to ‘pay big money’ to do so.

"I wouldn’t rule Simeone out at all, but I think Ten Hag and Pochettino would be the way forward because they’ll want a progressive coach that plays a certain way, that probably is a little bit cheaper and available,” Neville added.

"I don’t know how much it would cost to get Simeone out of Atletico Madrid, but Manchester United would have to pay big money."

Simeone guided Atletico to the final eight of the Champions League on Tuesday, beating United 2-1 on aggregate over two-legs.

He is known for his defensively-solid style of play, opting for a 4-4-2 formation when the opposition are attacking his team, but then shifting to an offensive 4-2-2-2 shape when on the ball.

During his tenure in charge of Atletico, Simeone has won eight trophies, including last year’s La Liga title.

Meanwhile, several news outlets are reporting Erik Ten Hag is the United board’s ‘favoured’ choice at this point.