Michael Carrick is running out of time to save his job at Manchester United, with the club poised to ramp up the search for a fourth permanent manager in three years since minority owners Ineos took over football operations.
Carrick – who impressed during his interim spell in charge last season – has come under huge pressure following United’s worst start to a season in 40 years and the dismal 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
While the problems United face run far deeper than the head coach – as highlighted by defender Lisandro Martinez after the defeat to Atletico Madrid earlier this month – Carrick’s appears to be on the brink following criticism of his tactics by the United captain Bruno Fernandes.
While he is set to remain in charge for Sunday’s home game against Bournemouth, the club have already discussed potential replacements should Carrick follow the departures of Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim under the Ineos leadership.
But who could United turn to as they seek to salvage their campaign?
Eddie Howe
The Englishman is available after his shock decision to leave Newcastle United in the summer. Howe told the club he needed a break from management but the chance to take charge at Old Trafford, three months later, would surely be too good to turn down if an offer arrives. The 48-year-old remains highly regarded in English football after taking over a Newcastle side in the relegation zone and leading them to the club’s highest Premier League finish in two decades, as well as their first domestic silverware in 70 years. Howe twice took Newcastle into the Champions League playing an energetic, high-intensity style of football that would be popular at Old Trafford. He is currently the favourite with the bookies.
Fabian Hurzeler
Brighton have been the surprise package in the Premier League this season and the 33-year-old Hurzeler has drawn praise for turning the Seagulls into a side capable of competing with the country’s biggest clubs. Brighton’s 3-0 victory over champions Arsenal earlier this season was a masterclass in modern coaching while Hurzeler’s side also knocked United out of the Carabao Cup with a brilliant 3-2 win at Old Trafford. The Independent’s Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney has reported that Hurzeler is admired at Old Trafford but Brighton would demand significant compensation for the highly-rated German and United may not have the cash. At Brighton, Hurzeler has also enjoyed an environment where the club have made all the right decisions off the pitch. At United, he would arguably be walking into the opposite.
Julian Nagelsmann
The former wunderkind of German coaching was reportedly on United’s radar when they sacked Ruben Amorim at the start of the year, but as an option for the summer following the World Cup. Well, that was a bit of a disaster for the former Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig coach, as Germany were knocked out in the last-32 by Paraguay. Nagelsmann, 39, would naturally be interested in managing United and the club’s director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, previously worked with him at Red Bull.
Unai Emery
The Spaniard has done a superb job at Aston Villa by securing Champions League qualification and ending the club’s trophy drought with victory in the Europa League. But Aston Villa will be even more determined to keep Emery given the club are only in the early stages of their rebuild under him, having completely overhauled the spine of their team over the summer. As it is, Emery enjoys complete control over his project at Villa Park, a reality he is unlikely to find at Old Trafford, while he appears enthused by the challenge of constructing a second competitive team in the Premier League. With Emery, who is under contract until 2029, United would also need to pay Villa compensation, and that may place him above their budget.
Antonio Conte
The appeal of the combustible Italian only has grown while United have been accused of becoming too passive and pedestrian on the pitch. Conte is one of the most demanding coaches in the game and would instantly bring a level of intensity and urgency that has been lacking this season, while his CV – with Serie A titles at Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli and a Premier League crown with Chelsea – commands respect. Conte also brought an immediate improvement when he took charge of a floundering Tottenham five years ago and led them back into the Champions League, which now has to be United’s biggest concern. So the 57-year-old offers impact, but then what? Conte has a sharp tongue and is not afraid to criticise his bosses if he feels they are failing to support him. His exit from Tottenham in March 2023 followed a stunning evisceration of the club in a now legendary press conference at Southampton. United would be playing with fire but options of Conte’s calibre are few and far between.
Cesc Fabregas
The former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder is developing a reputation as Europe’s brightest young coach – as his brilliant Como side demonstrated by thrashing United in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Spaniard appears committed to his project in northern Italy, though, and also has a financial incentive to continue leading Como in their debut Champions League campaign due to owning a stake in the Serie A club. The 39-year-old’s own stock is also rising and the lure of returning to one of his former clubs in the future, such as Barcelona, could result in Fabregas taking a patient and considered approach to his next move.
Another interim
Well, we’ve been here before. Before Michael Carrick stepped into the breach in January it was Under-18s manager Darren Fletcher, who oversaw the draw with Burnley and FA Cup third-round defeat to Brighton. Before him, Ruud van Nistelrooy held the reins between Erik ten Hag’s dismissal and Amorim’s appointment and before that, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer experienced the same cycle of boom-and-bust that Carrick has gone through over the past 10 months. In short, there’s no shortage of former United players who are available to remind an underperforming dressing room of the importance of the badge and the meaning of the shirt. It could be time for Fletcher to give Sir Alex another call.
