Michael Carrick charges towards permanent Man Utd job but dream replacement set for talks | OneFootball

Michael Carrick’s chances of becoming the next permanent Manchester United head coach have risen, as per a trusted source, though the Red Devils are also considering an approach for a world-class alternative.

Carrick has impressed Man Utd chiefs since being named interim boss in January. Not only is he helping United to pick up wins, but he has also got the team playing exciting football, with attackers such as Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko thriving.

United currently sit third in the Premier League, six points ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool. Carrick’s side have a great chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, which would bring crucial revenue flooding into Old Trafford.

Such an achievement would also help the club to land yet more top players as they plan another summer rebuild.

They state that it will be ‘very hard’ for INEOS to look past Carrick for the permanent role if he guides United into the Champions League spots. This represents a ‘boost’ for the 44-year-old.

United chiefs ‘have not made contact with any other candidates’ as things stand.

Sky Sports add that if United opt for someone else, it will be a coach with ‘stature and experience’, following the failed Ruben Amorim experiment.

United are also wary of rushing into a decision over Carrick, having learned from the past appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Independent’s chief football writer, Miguel Delaney, revealed on Monday that United are poised to contact Luis Enrique amid heightening talk he could leave Paris Saint-Germain.

‘Manchester United insiders say that Luis Enrique is the name increasingly being mentioned, with the club reportedly willing to make a serious push to secure him,’ Delaney wrote in his newsletter.

‘You might wonder why he would leave PSG now, but there is growing speculation that he will depart in the summer, and he has long expressed a desire to work in the Premier League.’

Enrique would be a spectacular appointment for United, having won the quadruple with PSG last season.

The likes of Roberto De Zerbi, Julian Nagelsmann and Oliver Glasner are all thought to be on United’s shortlist, too.

Carrick impressing despite Keane concerns

De Zerbi is particularly highly rated following the great work he did at Brighton & Hove Albion. It is understood that the Italian would rather join United than Tottenham Hotspur, too.

Roy Keane has told United to steer clear of appointing Carrick. Last week, our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, reacted to this by saying: “Michael Carrick is impressing, the way he is working, his attitude and commitment to the role, and it is this that will earn him the role – not opinions, either way.

“This is Manchester United, it is a pressure cooker of a club – it always will be. There will always be comments both negative and positive. But I am told that will not sway the club in any way.

“The club are working hard on the manager front, and whilst Carrick is emerging in pole position, the club insist they are doing due diligence on every option available to them.”

United were previously hopeful of snaring Thomas Tuchel or Carlo Ancelotti, only for the pair to extend their international coaching commitments.

On February 23, after Tuchel penned a new contract with England, we confirmed that Carrick’s performance has thrilled Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football.