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Michael Carrick has moved into pole position for the role as Manchester United’s interim head coach until the end of the season.
Carrick has emerged as the leading candidate after he and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer held face-to-face talks with club executives.
Darren Fletcher, in caretaker charge for two games following Ruben Amorim’s sacking, is in line to potentially assist Carrick as a coach. It is thought another coach coming in to support Carrick would also be on the cards.
United insist no final decision has been made, but an announcement is anticipated in the next 48 hours.
Director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada have led the process to appoint an interim head coach, with sign-off required by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family.
Attentions will turn to bringing in a permanent successor to Amorim once the temporary position is finalised.
Carrick, 44, had a temporary three-game spell in charge of United following Solskjaer’s exit in 2021. The former midfielder spent 12 years at United as a player between 2006 and 2018, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League. He has been out of management since being dismissed by Middlesborough in the summer.
United sacked Amorim a week ago after 14 months at the club and Under-18s coach Fletcher was placed in interim charge for the trip to Burnley on Wednesday before also taking the team for Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion. Former United defender Jonny Evans also returned to assist Fletcher.
Amorim’s sacking followed a dramatic press conference on January 4 after the draw with Leeds United where he insisted that he came to United to be the club’s “manager” rather than a “coach”.
The decision to move on from Amorim was arrived at by the club’s leadership team, including Berrada and Wilcox, after a breakdown in the relationship behind the scenes.
Amorim joined United in November 2024 from Portuguese club Sporting CP, signing a contract until 2027. United will have to pay his contract in full as the deal did not include a clause that would have enabled a discounted exit.