Manchester United will imminently appoint Michael Carrick as interim manager after the idea of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s return was rejected by some senior players. Carrick will take the reins until the end of the season, marking his second stint in charge of the club he played 464 times for as a player. Despite being a favourite to replace the sacked Ruben Amorim and undergoing two interviews for the role, Solskjaer was ruled out after certain players expressed their lack of confidence in him to club officials.
It is understood that the players voiced their preference for Carrick to lead them for the rest of the season. Solskjaer, a United legend, managed the club from 2018 to 2021 before being sacked. Carrick’s appointment is set to be confirmed within the next 24 hours, with his first training session expected on Wednesday, ahead of his first match in charge against Manchester City this weekend.
This will be a challenging start for Carrick, given United’s recent form of just one win in their last seven matches across all competitions. Carrick previously served as interim boss for three games following Solskjaer’s dismissal five years ago, securing two wins and a draw before Ralf Rangnick took over.
Since being sacked by Championship side Middlesbrough in June, Carrick has been without a club. He led Middlesbrough to the Championship play-offs in the 2022-23 season, only to be defeated by Coventry in the semi-finals.
Boro narrowly missed out on the top six in back-to-back seasons, leading to Carrick’s dismissal. The ex-England midfielder, who clinched 18 major trophies at Old Trafford as a player, including the Champions League title in 2008, joined Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff at United after retiring at the close of the 2017-18 season.
Following Mourinho’s departure, Carrick retained his position as a first-team coach throughout Solskjaer’s 168-game tenure.
Darren Fletcher was in interim charge for United’s past two matches after Amorim was sacked. But after a 2-2 Premier League draw away at Burnley, the Red Devils lost 2-1 at home to Brighton in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.