Michael Carrick is frontrunner for interim job at Manchester United: reports

According to media reports, Michael Carrick is in pole position to be appointed interim manager of Manchester United until the end of the season.

The BBC And Air sports said talks between the 44-year-old and the club’s hierarchy had progressed well, with United keen to arrange a meeting before the players return to training on Wednesday.

Carrick previously enjoyed a three-match unbeaten run as caretaker manager at Old Trafford in 2021.

The former midfielder, who won twelve major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United, was appointed manager of Middlesbrough in October 2022.

Carrick led Middlesbrough to the Championship play-offs in his first season in charge, but was sacked in June after finishing 10th in the second tier.

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United have also been in talks with former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer about a return to the club.

The Red Devils fired Ruben Amorim last week after a dismal fourteen-month spell under the Portuguese coach.

Caretaker boss Darren Fletcher has overseen a 2-2 draw against lowly Burnley in the Premier League and a 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup.

United’s exit from both domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle, plus a lack of European football, means they will play just 40 games this season – the lowest since the 1914/15 season.

The 20-time English champions are seventh in the Premier League, but just three points outside the top four and one point behind fifth-placed Brentford.

A top four finish would guarantee a return to the lucrative Champions League and the top five is likely to be enough thanks to the strong performances of English sides in European competition so far this season.

United host local rivals Manchester City on Saturday in what could be Carrick’s first game in charge.

Published on January 12, 2026