Eddie Howe and Manchester United manager Michael Carrick
Eddie Howe could take over from Michael Carrick at Manchester United
Manchester United reporter Laurie Whitwell has dropped a big new update on Michael Carrick’s future at Old Trafford and whether the Red Devils are ‘advancing’ in talks with Eddie Howe or Julian Nagelsmann.
Carrick’s future as Man Utd boss came under huge scrutiny when his side went nine games without a win between September 13 and October 31, losing six games during that run. United chiefs Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada surprisingly decided to keep Carrick in charge after the dreadful 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on October 25, as they attempted to place a portion of the blame on the players, rather than just the head coach.
Carrick’s chances of staying in the role received a huge boost on Tuesday when United came from 2-0 down to beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League.
Carrick looked down and out when Roma scored twice in the early stages, but Matheus Cunha inspired a brilliant comeback before getting sent off in stoppage time.
United’s director of football, Wilcox, has made Howe his top target if Carrick gets sacked, with Nagelsmann another key contender.
On the Stretford Paddock YouTube channel, Whitwell has now revealed that United are *not ‘*advancing’ in talks with potential replacements, as Carrick has seemingly ‘got the job’ for an extended period.
“They [United chiefs] decided to give him to the international break, a chance to turn things around,” the journalist said.
“Not to say they’d make a change during the break, but to reassess at that point…
“I’m not aware of anything advancing with any other candidates, even in just honing in on potential successors.
“It would suggest that Carrick’s got the job.”
Whitwell was then asked if United fans giving Carrick strong support is impacting the decisions made by the club’s hierarchy. He replied: “I would say that ultimately the supporters’ reactions is feeding into what they do.
“If they take Carrick out of this situation then there’s nowhere else to go but to the people making the calls and we’ve seen the animosity in the two home games.
“That would point the spotlight solely on the people making the changes and I think that does come into it.”
Man Utd ‘clearly had to work on a budget’ – Whitwell on transfers
Whitwell was then quizzed on whether Wilcox and United CEO Berrada are to blame for United’s disappointing summer transfer dealings.
He responded: “Wilcox and Berrarda clearly had to work to a budget. You can’t get away from that, and [they] aren’t the ones saying we’ve got this amount of money to spend.
“It’s in the context of the football club – the Glazer debt, recruitment being bad prior to this point.
“That’s where they’ve got sympathy, but within that there’s questions to be asked about certain decisions they made and ways conversations happen with agents, sporting directors – and I’ve canvassed enough opinions in the industry to bring me to a point of understanding the situation.”
It was claimed on Thursday that a new manager has appeared on United’s radar, giving the likes of Howe and Nagelsmann fresh competition for the role.