Image Credits: Imago Images
Michael Carrick has reached a verbal agreement to become Manchester United’s interim head coach until the end of the season, seeing off competition from former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a two-horse race for the temporary role. The 44-year-old former midfielder will be tasked with steadying a ship currently drifting in seventh place and out of both domestic cup competitions
Carrick emerged as the frontrunner after face-to-face interviews with United’s hierarchy, including CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox, on Monday. The club had initially approached both Carrick and Solskjaer following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim on January 5, but the ex-Middlesborough manager has won the race.
Joining Carrick at Old Trafford will be Jonathan Woodgate, the former Premier League defender who spent a brief spell as an international scout for Liverpool. This is according to the BBC.
The 46-year-old enjoyed a distinguished playing career that included spells at Leeds United, Newcastle United, Real Madrid, Middlesbrough, and Tottenham Hotspur, where he scored the winning goal in the 2008 League Cup final against Chelsea.
After retiring in 2016 following an 18-year playing career plagued by persistent injury problems, Woodgate joined Liverpool’s scouting department with responsibilities for identifying talent in Spain and Portugal.
Back in 2020, Woodgate explained that it was Michael Edwards who got him the job at Anfield. Speaking to Jamie Carragher on the Greatest Game Podcast, he said:
“Michael Edwards was at Spurs [as head of performance analysis] and every day I was in there watching players with him – Philippe Coutinho, actually, when he was at Inter Milan.”
“I would be in there every day constantly turning [Edwards’] office upside down and getting to know him.
“He was a really good guy. He rang me one day and said, ‘what are you doing?’. I said ‘nothing, I’ve just retired'”.
“He said ‘do you fancy coming on board and doing some scouting for Liverpool in Spain and Portugal?'”
“I said ‘too right I do!’. I was all over that. I was watching all the games, Spanish second division, Spanish first… I was going every couple of weeks and doing four games and then you come back and watch the game on the telly and the laptop.”
His reunion with Carrick comes from their time together at Middlesbrough, where Woodgate served as assistant coach under Carrick from October 2022.
READ MORE: Darwin Nunez linked to swap deal in return to Europe
Want to get the latest Liverpool news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.