According to speculations, Jose Mourinho wants to surprise everyone by returning to Manchester United.

After a terrible Premier League season that reached a new low with Monday night’s 4-0 thumping by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, the struggling Red Devils may be searching for a new manager in the coming months due to severe doubts about Erik ten Hag’s future.

According to the most recent rumors, Ten Hag is under fire, but United is not expected to remove him before their FA Cup final matchup with Manchester rivals City on May 25. However, many members of the first team now anticipate him to be replaced this summer, regardless of the outcome at Wembley.

Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate, Graham Potter, Roberto De Zerbi, Zinedine Zidane, and Julian Nagelsmann are just a few of the managers linked to the position thus far. Ten Hag has also been mentioned in relation to a potential return to former club Ajax or move to succeed Tuchel at Bayern Munich. If the United job were to become vacant once more in the challenging post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, the list of contenders would be lengthy.

The Manchester Evening News reports that Mourinho has stated in private that he would “walk” to Old Trafford to take up the position once more. However, it is important to note that he does not anticipate receiving an approach from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United’s co-owner and friend.

Naturally, the self-described “Special One” oversaw United for two years prior, from 2016 to 2018, winning the Community Shield, League Cup, and Europa League before being fired for what was seen to be a lack of development, with the team finishing sixth in the Premier League despite significant transfer spending.

Mourinho was the last United manager to win a major trophy for over six years, before Ten Hag’s Carabao Cup victory against Newcastle at Wembley last season finally put a stop to the lengthy streak.

Following his dismissal by United, the former manager of Chelsea, Porto, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid has had positions at Tottenham and Roma. He was fired by the latter in January following 2.5 years in charge. Currently, he is unemployed.

Since then, Mourinho has been connected to a number of employment options in Europe and beyond. In addition, he has been strongly linked to a transfer to Saudi Arabia due to the most recent rumored interest from Al-Qadsiah, a second-tier Saudi football team.