Manchester United once again find themselves in crisis - but is this the necessary fix?
Manchester United v AS Roma - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4
Michael Carrick has been under pressure all season (Image: Getty)
Manchester United are reportedly looking to hire Bayern Munich coach Aaron Danks to assist Michael Carrick, should INEOS opt against sacking the under-pressure manager. Carrick has come under heavy criticism this season after an abysmal start to the campaign, with the Red Devils languishing in the drop zone after 10 Premier League matches.
Carrick has already been given one stay of execution this season, with the United hierarchy having opted against sacking him following last month’s Como and Bournemouth humiliations. It’s said they were prepared to see how he got on during the Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa matches instead.
United won just one of those three, with Sunday’s 4-4 draw at home to Aston Villa another low point for the 20-time champions. United needed two goals in added time to prevent a fifth league defeat of the season, with suggestions Carrick could be let go during the international break.
However, as per TEAMtalk, INEOS are contemplating hiring a new coach, but one to work alongside Carrick, instead of replacing him. The man in question is Danks, who has been praised for his work alongside Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich in Germany.
Prior to that, Danks did work with Carrick at Middlesbrough, and United believe he could provide the United gaffer with a valuable boost on the training ground. It’s unclear where Danks would slot in if given the job, with Steve Holland currently operating as Carrick’s No.2.
That’s not to say Carrick getting the sack isn’t off the table entirely, with reports coming out of United that talks are taking place behind closed doors. That’s according to The Overlap, who revealed that the INEOS bigwigs are assessing the manager’s position, following the recent run of results.
When quizzed about the club’s next step though, Gary Neville claimed that United’s decision-makers are currently clueless. Speaking on NBC, he claimed: "Michael Carrick did that last season [interim until the end of the season] - so you can paper over the cracks and get a new manager bounce. When the new manager comes in, everybody's happy for a couple of months and all of a sudden, six months later, it happens again.
1. FSV Mainz 05 v FC Bayern München - Bundesliga 2026/27
Aaron Danks is being considered for a coaching role at Man Utd (Image: Getty)
"You can keep changing the manager and thinking that's going to be the answer. But this has been proven now over eight managers in 12 years, that's not the answer. Michael could leave, Michael might stay, we don't know, the ownership don't have a clue what to do.
"It's rinse and repeat. Amorim, Ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Carrick, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, David Moyes, Ralf Rangnick - some of them are world-class managers who have had success, there are a lot of promising young managers there, ex players who know the club as well.
"None of it has worked because if you recruit badly, if you've got poor performance department, poor recruitment department, you've not got leadership that is strong right through the spine of the football club you will fail.
"Every organisation in the world will fail if you've not got an aligned leadership from top to bottom - your board and your ownership right the way through to the person who is stood on the pitch trying to play football. There are real issues within that football club, you've got people doing those jobs who have never done those jobs before in senior positions."