Michael Carrick
via Reuters
Manchester United have been told to go and appoint Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to replace Michael Carrick by talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy, and his colleague Jamie O'Hara has issued his verdict on whether the Spaniard would want to make the move.
Man United's disappointing start to the season went from poor to bad as they were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
While being knocked out of a competition the Red Devils stand a good chance of winning is disappointing enough, the manner of the defeat and the performance at the 'Theatre of Dreams' against the Seagulls was unacceptable.
United looked to be in cruise control of the tie when they raced into a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes after goals by Shea Lacey and Mason Mount, but the remaining 80 minutes were tedious from the hosts' point of view.
Carrick's side failed to kick on and then their defensive woes surfaced as they conceded three poor goals to get knocked out of the tournament, with the players and manager receiving boos from the Old Trafford faithful at the final whistle.
While club chiefs brought in three new central midfielders in the summer, the squad looks short of quality and depth in other areas of the pitch, and particularly in defence.
It was no secret that United were keen to sign a new left-back in the summer, but deals for Newcastle United's Lewis Hall or Barcelona's Alejandro Balde proved impossible to do, which was a blow given Luke Shaw's fitness is already coming into question.
The fact that three of United's first-choice back four right now were signed in 2019 or before is a sign of where they are and how desperately they need to freshen up their backline, but it will have to wait until January at the earliest now.
The defeat to Brighton was their third in six matches in all competitions this term, and as the pressure grows on Carrick, talkSPORT pundit has told club chiefs to 'go and get' Unai Emery.
He said: "Unai Emery. Go and get him. Get him out of Villa.
That’s what I’d do. If I was Sir Jim Ratcliffe, I’d now cut my losses and go and get Unai.
"Don’t wait until Christmas to have the conversation, do it now."
O'Hara Drops Emery to United Verdict
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery looks on
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery looks on
O'Hara's immediate response to his co-host's suggestion was to question whether Emery would actually want to leave Villa for United right now.
It is well known that the Spaniard has a lot of control over things on and off the pitch at Villa Park, and it is unlikely he would be offered the same autonomy at Old Trafford.
That is O'Hara's concern, and he believes the 54-year-old has no reason to leave what he has in the Midlands to go to Manchester.
"I don’t know if Unai Emery wants to be Man United manager. Why would he want to go in there?
Unai Emery isn’t going to leave Villa now anyway. He isn’t leaving Villa.
"You just said they’re (United) skint. They’ve got to sack Carrick, then you’ve got to buy Unai Emery out of Villa and then you’ve got to pay him £10-15million. You just said they’ve got no money."
Emery has made a huge positive impact at Villa Park since taking charge in 2022, and while there have been a few wobbles along the way, the overall picture is that he has transformed the club and provided Champions League football on more than one occasion.
It's no wonder that Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler believes he is one of the top coaches in world football, and you would find few United fans who could make an argument that he wouldn't be a big upgrade on Carrick.
Hurzeler said:
I see him [Emery] as one of the best managers in the world.
“He achieves great things and he and his team can be a role model for us regarding managing the Premier League and European competition.
“That is definitely something we have to get used to. He knows my appreciation for him and let's see how Sunday goes.”
United legend Paul Scholes claimed two years ago that Emery would 'walk' to Manchester to take the job if he was offered it.