Manchester United could be swayed by Ralf Rangnick's high praise of Oliver Glasner as they consider appointing the Austrian as their new permanent head coach. Following Ruben Amorim's dismissal earlier this month, Darren Fletcher was promoted from his Under-18s head coach position to caretaker manager at Old Trafford.

However, Fletcher has since stepped down, with former colleague Michael Carrick taking over the reins on an interim basis until the end of the season. The managerial role at United has attracted interest from several potential candidates, including the current Crystal Palace boss.

Glasner, 51, has had a remarkable stint at Selhurst Park since his arrival in February 2024, guiding the Eagles to their first-ever major silverware in the form of the FA Cup last year. This triumph also secured them a spot in European football and led to a Community Shield victory in August, defeating Liverpool in a penalty shootout.

A summer move to Old Trafford could be on the horizon for Glasner, who has confirmed his intention to leave the south London club at the end of the season.

However, his tenure at Palace may be cut short following controversial comments made after their 2-1 loss to Sunderland on Saturday, sparking rumours of a possible early departure.

Glasner accused Palace's hierarchy of having "completely abandoned" him and his squad following the £20million departure of skipper Marc Guehi to Manchester City, a transfer expected to be finalised imminently.

The Eagles have opted against sacking the Austrian boss and wish for him to fulfil the remaining term of his contract.

Whilst Glasner's tenure at Palace may conclude on a sour note, whether imminently or come summer, his managerial credentials have earned glowing praise from Rangnick, who served as United's caretaker manager between 2021 and 2022.

"For me, Oliver Glasner is currently one of the most exciting coaches - not only in Germany, but in all of Europe. An absolute top coach," the Austria national team manager told LAOLA1 in March 2023.

During Rangnick's spell as Red Bull Salzburg's sporting director, he played a pivotal role in Glasner's coaching trajectory by appointing him as Roger Schmidt's assistant. Reflecting on his protégé's progression in football, Rangnick stated: "He developed step by step to where he is now, also because he made the right decisions.

"From his perspective, it was right to go to Ried, from Ried to Linz, from Linz to Wolfsburg. When you see what's happening with him and Markus Krosche at Eintracht Frankfurt, you can only take your hat off to him. This is a prime example of how a coach's career should develop. It couldn't have been written down better beforehand."

For United supporters concerned that Glasner, like Amorim, favours a three-at-the-back formation, the Austrian has previously drawn comparisons between his team and Amorim's side, explaining how such a system can thrive in the Premier League.

"We're playing the same system," he said earlier this season. "So it looks like it's a good attacking system. Also, as we show it, you can have a good defensive structure with it. It's all about what you do with the system and how fluid you are in attack and how creative you are."

Already a legendary figure in Palace's history, Glasner's frustrations boiled over following the defeat at the Stadium of Light as he took aim at club executives over their decisions to offload Eberechi Eze and Guehi.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Glasner fumed: "I feel we are being abandoned completely. Because I can't play many players. They did everything they could and this has been going on for weeks and months now. And we have 12, 13 players from the squad available and we feel no support.

"The worst thing is selling our captain one day before playing a Premier League game. We are preparing, it's the first week we are training since September, and then we are selling our captain one day before a game. So I have no understanding of this.

"I have always kept my mouth [closed], but I can't because I have to defend these players, because it was the 35th game today. Yes we get under pressure here and we are unlucky. But again, you can't react, we can't help them, it makes it really tough tonight."

When asked who he feels "abandoned" him, Glasner responded: "It's pretty clear, yeah? It's pretty clear. Again, I didn't sell anyone. If you get your heart torn out twice this season, one day before a game, it was with [Eberechi] Eze in summer, it was with Guehi now, you know?".