Man Utd tipped for shock appointment of Championship manager

Steve Kay

• 13 Oct 2024 09:48 BST
• 3 min read

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Manchester United have been tipped to make the shock appointment of former midfielder Michael Carrick as their new manager.

Current boss Erik ten Hag is very much at risk of the sack after a disastrous start to the season that sees United languishing down in 14th place after seven games.

At the top of the favourites to replace Ten Hag as manager are the usual names of Gareth Southgate, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

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But former Everton chairman Keith Wyness believes Carrick may get the job.

Carrick enjoyed a glittering 12-year career as a player for United, making 464 appearances and winning five Premier League titles and a Champions League.

He is now impressing as a manager at Middlesbrough in the Championship, and his next step could be to return to United.

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What did Wyness say?

“There are various rumours whether they will go for like a Thomas Tuchel or will it be a Michael Carrick and have more of a managerial coach type situation rather than a Tuchel type bigger name,” Wyness said.

“I think they might go for the second route and try and get the Man United ethos back to what it was before with an ex-player like Carrick managing the squad.

“He’s proven to be a very good manager, so that’s where I think they may go.

“But no one knows at the moment which way Ratcliffe is going to jump.

“They are starting to reap the rewards of a very bad, difficult off-season when everybody thought Ten Hag was going to be sacked, so all these sorts of things are coming home to roost.

“It’s a bad issue for Man United. We are already seven games into the season and it’s not looking good.”

Carrick has established himself as one of the most promising young English managers since being appointed as Middlesbrough coach in October 2022.

He finished fourth in the Championship in 2022-23, losing in the Playoffs semi-final to Coventry.

Last season he has impressed in leading Middlesbrough to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup where they beat Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg before losing heavily in the return.

Carrick’s intelligence, calm temperament and meticulousness are traits that are said to impress United’s INEOS decision-makers.