Manchester United are preparing to open formal talks with Michael Carrick about staying on as head coach.
Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football, and chief executive Omar Berrada are expected to recommend Carrick remains in charge beyond the end of this season at an executive committee meeting.
Any final decision will have to be ratified by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who took control of football operations from majority shareholders the Glazers when he bought a stake in the club in February 2024. But most of the signs now point to Carrick continuing in the job he inherited in January following the sacking of Ruben Amorim.
United have yet to start talks with Carrick, but that process is expected to get under way before the club’s final game of the Premier League season at Brighton on Sunday week.
Carrick, 44, has impressed the Old Trafford hierarchy since taking charge on January 13 and led United to Champions League qualification with three matches to spare.
No Premier League team have accumulated more points than United’s 33 in that 15-game period in which Carrick has been head coach. United were seventh when Carrick took over but now sit in third.
There has been a strong expectation among players and staff in recent weeks that Carrick will get the job.
Matheus Cunha said after the 3-2 win over Liverpool this month that Carrick has brought “the magic” and was adamant he “deserved” to carry on as manager.
Kobbie Mainoo, who was largely frozen out by Amorim and eager to leave on loan in January, has been completely reinvigorated by Carrick and said “we want to die for him on the pitch”. Those feelings are thought to be shared by many within the squad.
United have been insistent about conducting a thorough managerial search and have not wanted to make a final decision until the end of the season. Securing Champions League qualification early has helped to move the process on.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed permanent manager in March 2019 after an impressive honeymoon period, only to finish that season weakly.
Background checks and extensive work have been done on a series of candidates, including Andoni Iraola, who is leaving Bournemouth at the end of the season, and Aston Villa’s Unai Emery.
Some appealing candidates, such as Luis Enrique, who is expected to sign a new contract with Paris St-Germain after leading the French club to a second successive Champions League final, were considered out of reach.
United face another big summer in the transfer market when they plan to revamp their midfield, 12 months after overhauling the attack.
Carrick has been part of the transfer discussions spearheaded by Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, with United looking to recruit as many as three midfielders should Manuel Ugarte follow Casemiro out of the door.
Casemiro, 34, will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season while Ugarte has struggled to make the grade since his £42.5m move from PSG in 2024.
United have been impressed by the way Carrick has handled himself on and off the pitch. He wasted no time implementing a 4-2-3-1 formation and restoring Mainoo to the heart of the midfield after the problems the players had adapting to Amorim’s 3-4-2-1.
Tensions grew in the final weeks between Amorim and United’s hierarchy, but Carrick has restored a sense of calm and shown he can work within a collaborative approach. He has also been far more invested in the academy set-up than Amorim and a regular at youth-team matches.
His coaching staff, headed by No 2 Steve Holland, who brought a wealth of experience with him from his time with Chelsea and England, and supported by Jonathan Woodgate, Travis Binnion and Jonny Evans, have also been considered important.
With no European football at Old Trafford this season and the club out of both domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle, Carrick has had the benefit of significantly more time on the training ground to implement his ideas than a United manager would ordinarily have.
One of the big challenges next season will be to assemble a squad that can handle the competing demands of Premier League and Champions League football.
Carrick won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during a 12-year spell as a player at United before initially returning to the club as a coach under Solskjaer.
He was interim manager for three games before leaving when Ralf Rangnick took temporary charge and then spent just under three years as Middlesbrough manager in the Championship.