Manchester United have ended their search for a head coach by handing former midfielder Michael Carrick the reins at Old Trafford until the end of the season — but solving the problem of replacing Ruben Amorim was just one of several key issues facing the club.
With Carrick taking charge of the team, CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox must now focus on summer recruitment and identifying a permanent head coach to take over ahead the 2026-27 season.
The future of United’s ownership is also on the agenda due to a clause allowing the Glazer family, the club’s USA-based majority owners, to sell without the prior consent of minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
So, while Carrick might bring calm to on-field matters, United remain in a state of flux off the pitch. ESPN’s Mark Ogden and Rob Dawson take a look at what lies ahead for the club and how it will all play out.
– Why did Man United, Chelsea, Real Madrid fire their coaches? Culture
– A loyal, safe option: How Man United chose Carrick as head coach
– ‘Head coach’ vs. ‘Manager’: What’s the difference? Does it matter?
So, United landed Carrick: What’s the best-case and worst-case scenario for him?
Ogden: Let’s start with the worst-case scenario because that’s the one that, on recent form, Carrick must address first.
If he can’t inspire the team to an upturn in performances — a task not helped by his first two scheduled games coming against Premier League front-runners Manchester City and Arsenal — then United will slide down the table and drift too far from the Champions League spots. Beyond that, they could also miss out on Europe entirely again, so that’s the worst-case scenario.
Best case? Well, Carrick could get United winning again and guide them to a top-four finish. If he does that, there will be a clamor for him to get the job permanently.
I don’t think that can be ruled out. Just because it turned sour for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after he was elevated from interim to permanent manager doesn’t mean the same would apply to Carrick. But that’s a long way away — United look nothing like Champions League qualifiers right now.
Dawson: Best-case scenario is that United qualify for the Champions League. Finishing in the top five should be enough (due to the European Performance Spots on offer) and, with United now sitting seventh in the table, one point off Brentford in fifth, it’s certainly achievable.
If Carrick can do it, some fans will be pushing for him to get the job permanently in the summer. At this stage, club bosses are keeping their options open.
Worst-case scenario — also a distinct possibility — is that results drop off a cliff. The club already had just one win in seven across all competitions before Carrick arrived, and it could get worse. Out of both cup competitions, Carrick will be relying on the players finding motivation to chase European qualification.
There’s a precedent that Carrick will want to avoid. When Ralf Rangnick was interim at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, results flatlined once United went out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid and their last chance of a trophy disappeared. They lost five of their last nine games and finished sixth.
Ogden: There’s no way back for Rashford, who is currently on loan at Barcelona, even if United decide to appoint England coach Thomas Tuchel as permanent manager after the 2026 World Cup.
Tuchel is a fan of Rashford, but United have pretty much washed their hands of the forward after too many issues on and off the pitch. The club will gladly do a permanent deal with Barcelona (they have a €30 million option at the end of the season) or any other club, to cut ties with him this summer.
And let’s be frank: Rashford has done OK at Barcelona without making United regret letting him go, so while there is little prospect of him returning to Old Trafford, it’s not as if either side would be pushing for anything different.
Mainoo? He’ll be at United until the end of the season, but the midfielder could leave in the summer due to his contract expiring in 2027. He’s still only 20, so he has time to overcome his difficult season, but unless he does better when he gets opportunities to play, he won’t be getting a big new contract at United.
1:52
Does Amorim’s exit offer Mainoo & Rashford a future at Manchester United?
Rob Dawson wonders if Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford have a chance to reignite their careers at Manchester United after Ruben Amorim’s sacking.
Dawson: You can never say never with Rashford, but the writing looks to be on the wall at United. Amorim is gone, but the decision to allow him to leave had the backing of Wilcox, Berrada and Ratcliffe, so there doesn’t appear to be a way back for him.
If Barcelona’s precarious financial position means they start messing United around, and if the next permanent United manager wants to give him a fresh start then anything is possible — but they’re big ifs.
Mainoo’s prospects this season will improve now that Carrick is in because he’ll pick a three-man midfield. What happens beyond the summer, however, remains up in the air.
There has been little movement on his new contract and a big offer to sign the academy graduate will always be tempting — particularly with at least one midfielder set to arrive in the summer window.
Will Wilcox and Berrada face scrutiny for Amorim and everything after?
Ogden: That all depends on how the next few months play out under Carrick. If Carrick brings results and stability, Wilcox and Berrada can seek out a new manager with more credibility. But either way, the Amorim appointment turned out to be disastrous, and Wilcox and Berrada must shoulder some of the blame for hiring him in the first place and sticking with him too long.
If the Carrick hire proves similarly ill-judged, then questions will be asked about their ability to find the right coach to take the team forward in the summer. A lot is riding on the next six months for Wilcox and Berrada because Ratcliffe — who makes the call on day-to-day football operations at United — is not known for his patience.
1:41
Is Michael Carrick the ‘least worst’ candidate for Man United?
Mark Ogden explains the reports around Manchester United potentially appointing Michael Carrick as interim manager.
Dawson: Wilcox’s role as director of football is under the microscope after Amorim’s dismissal. There is a growing suspicion among large sections of United’s fan base that he’s too involved in what the manager/head coach is doing — and it’s not for the better.
The criticism is that the former head of Manchester City’s academy is now in charge of all the big decisions at Old Trafford, and he needs to start showing that he can get them right.
It’s important that Carrick does well for the next 4½ months and that the search for the next permanent manager is smooth. Right now, United supporters have little trust in Wilcox and the only way that is going to be rebuilt is by proving he’s the right man for such a big job.
When Ratcliffe bought a 29% stake in United in 2024, the terms of deal were such that the Glazers are now able to sell the club and force Ratcliffe to sell his shares too. What will they do?
Ogden: This is a tough one to answer, because the Glazers have always played their cards so close to their chest that only they know what their future plans are.
So-called “drag-along rights” inserted into the sale of one-third of their stake to Ratcliffe enable the American majority owners to sell the club if they receive an offer of $33 a share at any point after August 2025. At the moment, it looks like an unlikely scenario with the shares currently trading on the NYSE at around $16.60 each.
But while the February 2024 deal was supposed to involve Ratcliffe’s Ineos taking control of football operations at United, the reality has been different: Ratcliffe’s team have overhauled every aspect of the club, so the Glazers have taken a back seat on everything.
With that in mind, the Glazer family’s stake is now simply a financial investment rather than an emotional one, so it seems obvious that they would sell for the right price — especially if somebody triggers that $33-per-share offer. But good luck finding anyone prepared to do that in the months ahead.
Dawson: The Glazers have only ever shown themselves as prioritizing profit over anything else, and it’s no different now. The deal with Ratcliffe has worked out perfectly for the Glazer siblings: They got a significant payday and kept their cash cow — all while deflecting the attention and scrutiny of club management onto Ratcliffe and Ineos.
There’s long been a theory around the club that the Glazers have a number in mind to walk away completely. There are still murmurings about a bid from the Middle East, but so far there’s been little substance behind the talk.
Let’s talk signings: What is this team screaming out for, personnel-wise, either in January or this summer?
Ogden: United won’t do any business this month. They want two young, dynamic midfielders in the summer and won’t reduce their budget by spending in January.
Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton are two prime targets, but both will likely be at the World Cup with England and will have high transfer fees, so United will have significant rivals for their signatures and it will be a difficult summer window.
Beyond that obvious priority, United need reliable full backs. The exit of Amorim means that wing backs are no longer a key addition, so United can instead focus on defenders who can defend first and foremost.
1:10
Will Michael Carrick be a successful interim manager at Man United?
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to the possibility of Michael Carrick becoming Manchester United’s interim manager until the end of the season.
Dawson: The midfield needs a complete overhaul at the end of the season.
Casemiro is likely to leave and Manuel Ugarte has already been deemed surplus to requirements. There’s also a possibility that Bruno Fernandes could decide to leave.
United are hoping to bring in at least one high-level midfielder in the summer with another, cheaper, option to supplement them.
You could argue that United need a full back and a center back, while the situation with their wingers is also interesting. Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system didn’t require out-and-out wingers, but almost every other manager in the world plays a variation of 4-3-3 with widemen either side of a center forward.
Perhaps the biggest question of all right now: Who will United pursue as permanent manager and why?
Ogden: Tuchel is the candidate that ticks virtually every box. He has big-club experience (with Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern), a Premier League track record with Chelsea, has won the biggest trophies including the Champions League, and he will be available this summer due to his England contract expiring at the end of the World Cup.
But Tuchel is also demanding and abrasive, and those characteristics don’t fit with United’s vision of a collegiate coach who will work in tandem with Wilcox and Berrada. United will either have to amend their blueprint to accommodate Tuchel or look elsewhere for a less combustible figure.
Mauricio Pochettino has similar attributes to Tuchel but the U.S. men’s national team coach has proven to be more diplomatic during his career. Meanwhile Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna — a former United coach — and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner are less high-profile candidates with admirers at Old Trafford.
United should go for Tuchel, but they may end up with Carrick if he does well because personality and financial cost will be big factors in who ends up as head coach at the start of next season.
Dawson: The most important question for Ratcliffe, Berrada and Wilcox to answer is not who they want, but what they want. Do they want a big name, win-now manager? Or are they after a young head coach to slot into their structure and stay in his lane?
There’s no point hiring Tuchel if you’re not prepared for him to be demanding with recruitment and protective of his work on the training ground. By the same token, it doesn’t make sense to bring in McKenna and expect an immediate title challenge.
Given Amorim’s struggles, a boss with experience in the Premier League would make sense. Beyond that, it’s far more important that the hierarchy decide the direction of the project before they pick someone to drive the bus.
