Manchester United have been heavily linked with former Newcastle manager Eddie Howe

Eddie Howe may not be the right manager for Manchester United - because he would demand more control over transfers and the running of team operations than the Old Trafford outfit is willing to grant.

That's the view of former Newcastle United hero Alan Shearer, who believes the size of the job and the issues behind the scenes make it a difficult job for any manager to take on.

Howe has been linked this week with the role of head coach if Man Utd decide to part company with Michael Carrick. The 48-year-old has been out of work since stepping away from Newcastle in July, but emerged as the bookies favourite to be next manager and is believed to have support within the Old Trafford boardroom.

Shearer, who famously snubbed Man United back in 1996 to sign for his boyhood team, saw first hand the way Howe transformed Newcastle during his tenure, taking them from relegation certainties to the Champions League. But while he believes Howe is a 'highly talented coach, he stopped short of recommending the ex-Magpies man should move to Manchester.

"I don't know if Eddie Howe would go in and turn it around at Manchester United, also they would still have to compensate Newcastle," Shearer said. "Newcastle would still have a say because with the time left on his contract.

"Eddie does like control. So, whether he would get enough of that, I don't know. But it's Manchester United.

"I feel uncomfortable when someone's in a job talking about someone else, but he was Newcastle's most successful manager in my time and he did an unbelievable job at Newcastle, dragging us out of the relegation zone into great Champions League nights and obviously delivering that trophy. So, he's a highly talented coach and manager, but we've seen many of those go into Man United and fail.

"I couldn't give him any advice. I know the size of the football club and the football team are very different to what it was 20 or 30 years ago. So, I understand the pull of that still. I also look at it logically, and know it's a really, really tough task going in there with how they are being run."

Howe is understood to be interested in the Man Utd job should it become available and should he be approached. Director of football Jason Wilcox is a fan of his, but the likes of German coach Julian Nagelsmann and Italian Antonio Conte are also contenders.

One thing Shearer is clear about is that talk of a manager coming into Old Trafford - whether that be Howe or someone else - and making them Premier League title contenders again is fanciful at this stage. Instead, they should be focusing on getting away from the drop zone.

Carrick's men travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday lunchtime sitting in 16th spot in the table, just two places and one point above the relegation places.

"Man United are in a relegation battle," Shearer added to Betfair. "You can't talk about them winning titles when currently, they're in a relegation battle, and that just tells you where they are at the moment as a club.

"We always say let's judge the league after 10 games, then you've got a more realistic point of view as to where teams are going to be and we've had eight. I don't expect them to win at Chelsea.

"If they win, then we're talking differently. But if they go to Chelsea and get beaten again, then yeah, you'd have to talk about them being in a relegation battle. Can you imagine Man City and Man United being relegated? You'd get good odds on that, put it that way."