Ferdinand to follow Man Utd greats on Championship management path

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently became the 14th example of a Premier League manager that had represented Manchester United during their playing career and this is a list that Rio Ferdinand could also find himself on in the future.

Ferdinand has stated on his personal twitter account that he sees himself managing in the Premier League in five years time and Coral are offering 6/1 that the defender has managed in the top flight before the start of the 2019/20 season.

However, even if Ferdinand does take over the reins of a Premier League club in his career, it is unlikely that this will be his first job.

It is 9/2 that Ferdinand walks straight into Premier League management, with the Championship seen to be his most likely first destination at 7/4.

Steve Bruce at Sheffield United, Roy Keane at Sunderland and Bryan Robson at Middlesbrough are all examples of former Man Utd players who began their managerial careers in the second tier.

Meanwhile, some high-profile Premier League players have started managing further down the football pyramid and this is what Ferdinand may need to do to build up experience.

Another long-term England defender Tony Adams was given his first opportunity at Wycombe, then of League One, and Roberto Di Matteo started in the same division with MK Dons.

Others have had to drop as low as League Two for a managerial role, with Paul Ince starting out at Macclesfield and James Beattie at Accrington Stanley.

The price is 11/4 that Ferdinand takes charge of his first club in League One and 8/1 that he begins down the managerial road in League Two.

Alternatively, it is 20/1 that he copies the likes of John Barnes and Paul Lambert by taking a job in Scotland first or 8/1 that he heads to any other European league.