Manchester United legend Andy Cole would love to see Joe Mourinho succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

In his column for the Independent, Cole wrote: "Now, I wouldn't presume for a second to start predicting who United's next manager will be. The Boss (Sir Alex Ferguson) could still fancy another five years, in which case he'll get them. But when he does leave, I think Mourinho is among a tiny number who ticks the boxes as a candidate to replace him.

"His team did superbly to eliminate Chelsea, by the way. All the pundits thought they would come and park the bus, but they subverted that assumption to play free-flowing football from the start. The interchange between the strikers and the runs behind took Chelsea by surprise, and Samuel Eto'o, Thiago Motta and Goran Pandev each had decent chances before Eto'o actually scored.

"Like him or loathe him (I like him), Mourinho is a character. He's won titles in Portugal, England and Italy. He's a serial winner and that's the type of person that suits United. Personally, I think the Premier League has missed Mourinho and will be enhanced when he comes back as a Premier League manager, as I'm certain he will one day."