Michael Carrick will hold further talks with Manchester United on Monday over becoming the club’s interim manager until the end of the season.
Carrick and his representatives are meeting with United executives after it emerged that he is the frontrunner to take over following the sacking of Ruben Amorim and Darren Fletcher’s two-game stint as caretaker boss.
It’s understood that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not been ruled out at this stage after he met with chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox on Saturday, but the focus is on discussions with Carrick who impressed in face-to-face talks on Thursday.
Daily Mail Sport revealed last week that Carrick and Solskjaer are involved in a head-to-head fight for the interim role after the Norwegian had appeared to be the early favourite. Club sources stressed then that Carrick was being given serious consideration – and say it’s too early to rule out Solskjaer now.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was caretaker for four games when Erik ten Hag was sacked in 2024, and Fletcher were also in the running but have drifted out of contention.
Momentum has built steadily behind Carrick, who was Solskjaer’s first-team coach between 2018 and 2021, and stepped in as caretaker for three games after the United legend was sacked.
Michael Carrick is holding further talks with Man United over becoming their interim boss
He has emerged as the frontrunner for the gig ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ruben Amorim is back in Portugal after being dismissed from his role as Man United boss
As well as impressing Berrada and Wilcox, the 44-year-old is said to have support from within the dressing-room from the players who worked with him when he was part of the coaching staff under Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer, before taking caretaker charge of games against Villarreal, Chelsea and Arsenal in the 2021-22 season.
Carrick then chose to leave the club where he spent 12 years as a player when Ralf Rangnick was appointed interim manager until the end of the season and brought in his own staff.
The former Tottenham and West Ham midfielder landed his first managerial job at Middlesbrough but has been out of work since he was sacked in June after two-and-a-half years.
United want the new man in place before Saturday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford. An announcement could be made on Monday, although sources believe the process may take longer.
