Gary Lineker has surprisingly told Manchester United to look at interim England boss Lee Carsley amid their search for a new permanent manager.

Man Utd have sacked Erik ten Hag in the wake of their 2-1 defeat to West Ham United on Sunday. A controversial Jarrod Bowen penalty in stoppage time gave West Ham a much-needed win and left Man Utd languishing in 14th in the Premier League, with four defeats from just nine games so far.

Ten Hag managed to stay in his role over the October international break, but results and performances have not improved since then and this forced United chiefs to pull the trigger.

Assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has stepped up to take caretaker charge until Ten Hag's long-term replacement can be brought in.

United are eager to bring in Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP, and the Portuguese has given such a move the 'green light'.

But there have been tentative claims Manchester City could provide United with competition for Amorim if Pep Guardiola decides to leave.

Fulham's Marco Silva has been named as one alternative for United, though Lineker has thrown Carsley's name into the mix.

"I think it would be very interesting, I think he's clearly a brilliant coach. A certain Lee Carsley, who they probably won't think about. But, he's an imaginative coach, he plays really attacking football," the pundit said on The Rest Is Football podcast.

"The players, from what I heard at England, thought he was really good, and really interesting and thoughtful on the game.

"The one thing he struggled with a little bit I suppose was the media side of things but, that's quite easy to learn quite quickly.

"I don't suppose they'll go for him because they'll probably either stick with Van Nistelrooy if he does well at the start, which is often the case...

"But there are not many big names out there available at the moment in terms of your elite, proven, year in, year out managers."

DON'T MISS - Erik ten Hag sack: The five lowest points of Dutchman's troubled tenure at Man Utd

Lee Carsley to Man Utd would be shock move Carsley has a good reputation in the English game, particularly after helping the Three Lions' U21 side win the Euros in July 2023.

Carsley is known to be more creative and fluid in his style than many English coaches. The 50-year-old had the opportunity to stake a claim for the England job this month but, as Lineker points out, he struggled with the media scrutiny.

Carsley also tried an ultra-attacking formation against Greece which included all of England's most creative midfielders rather than a true centre-forward, though this experiment did not work.

The former Republic of Ireland international looks set to return to managing England U21s when Thomas Tuchel arrives as the new coach of the senior team in January.

Carsley will look to hone his craft with the U21s before potentially pushing for a bigger job at some stage in the future.

DIVE DEEPER: Why Man Utd chose Ruben Amorim over Xavi revealed, as sources detail what type of manager they're getting

Man Utd manager latest: Scholes verdict, Amorim's four targets Meanwhile, former United star Paul Scholes has questioned whether landing Amorim is the right move.

"Amorim is an interesting one," the pundit said. "But, again, that is a risky one.

"We all know the style of play. [Amorim] plays really good football. We've been talking about him for City. That obviously tells you something about his pedigree.

"Most of these managers, they've been at clubs where the expectation probably is not as high. I look at Thomas Frank and I see that. He might be a very capable manager for Manchester United but expectations are not [at Brentford] what they are at United."

Scholes added that Zidane would be his dream pick to replace Ten Hag, though there are concerns about whether the French icon can speak English fluently.

Despite Scholes' stance, United are pressing ahead in their bid to land Amorim. Reports claim he could suggest United sign four of his current Sporting stars, too.

The most notable are deadly striker Viktor Gyokeres and centre-back Goncalo Inacio. Although, a journalist has outlined where Gyokeres is more likely to go when leaving Sporting.

Making up the list are midfielder Morten Hjulmand - who has been linked with United before - and Nuno Santos, a 29-year-old left winger.