Ryan Giggs Tipped to Leave Manchester United in Near Future by Paul Scholes

Former Manchester United midfield great Paul Scholes believes ex-team-mate and Old Trafford legend Ryan Giggs won't wait long before taking a job as manager. He certainly won't sit still another two seasons counting the minutes until current United gaffer Louis van Gaal stands aside.

Scholes told BT Sport (h/t Mirror reporter James Whaling) Giggs wants a top job now and won't have the patience to bide his time:

"

There’s no doubt, he had that little taste of it for the last three weeks of last year and he definitely wants to be a manager.

You can see that. Over the next two or three years, will he have the patience to be a number two for that long? I’m not sure he will.

"

Scholes was referring to Giggs' brief spell in temporary charge after Van Gaal's predecessor David Moyes was shown the door during the dying embers of last season. That appears to have given Giggs the bug to want to control his own team full time.

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It's a view backed up by another former United player and Scholes' fellow BT Sport analyst, Michael Owen (also per Whaling): "Now he’s too excited to become a No. 1 again. If he hadn’t had that experience he would have been far more patient. Now he’s tasted it, he will want to get straight back in."

Giggs himself has made it clear he'll welcome another opportunity to test his mettle from the dugout. But he didn't sound as though he's in quite as much of a rush as both Scholes and Owen suppose: “So whenever that time comes—I don’t know when it will be—but all I can do is prepare myself. I’m serving my apprenticeship again. That’s the way I see it.”

But there is one factor that could push Giggs away from the Red Devils sooner than he'd like. It concerns the apparent frosty relationship he seems to share with Van Gaal.

Consult any shot of the United bench celebrating a goal and you'll see Giggs hesitant, to say the least, to share in Van Gaal's joy. This was particularly obvious when Ashley Young netted an 11th-hour winner away to Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Some images from the MailOnline Sport Twitter account revealed the exchange:

Manchester Evening News writer Samuel Luckhurst detailed the moment. He also suggested Giggs hasn't warmed to the cautious, pragmatic style of play Van Gaal's current United team embodies.

Luckhurst explained how this approach goes against what Giggs called for when he briefly took the reins from Moyes: “I want players to play with passion, speed, tempo and be brave with imagination. All the things that are expected of a Manchester United player. Manchester United’s philosophy is to attack.”

The uneasy body language between Giggs and his boss hasn't escaped notice. Van Gaal was asked about it during a recent press conference, per Mirror reporter David McDonnell.

The veteran Dutch coach's sneering sarcasm has hardly put this story to bed: "No, we have a very bad relationship. We have very bad relationship. I’m very irritated because of this question. Everybody can see we have a very good relationship and how we work very well together."

Van Gaal may be selling sunshine and roses, but all seems far from well between United's management team. In the long run, though, Giggs may be better served biding his time.

B/R's Janusz Michallik doesn't believe Van Gaal is in for the long haul. He also thinks United need somebody who will provide long-term stability. As somebody deeply woven into the fabric of the club, Giggs certainly fits the bill:

Meanwhile, B/R's Alex Dimond has indicated Van Gaal would already be on borrowed time if one of football's marquee managers was available this summer:

If Giggs instead opts to cut his time working with Van Gaal short, he may find top jobs tough to come by. His experience is still very limited, and without the insider connection he has at Old Trafford, Giggs doesn't have the gravitas many clubs will look for in a new appointment.

However, he does have some credibility left over from his highly decorated playing days. Giggs would need a prospective club willing to take a chance on a young manager with the right background to succeed.