Manchester United are understood to be preparing to part company with Michael Carrick after Sunday\u2019s defeat to Bournemouth, with Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann emerging as the leading candidates to replace him.<\/p>\n
Sky Sports News reported that there is an expectation inside the club that Carrick will be relieved of his duties after a damaging 3-0 loss, a result that followed Bournemouth\u2019s similarly emphatic win over AC Milan. The away support enjoyed the day, while United\u2019s fans turned their attention to backing Carrick, who now appears likely to become the latest manager to pay for a deeper decline.<\/p>\n
The reaction around Old Trafford was directed at more than one target, with players, sporting directors and owners all hearing the frustration from the stands. Yet the manager, visibly affected by the result, is the figure most likely to leave. Discussions about a successor had already begun, but those talks have now reportedly been accelerated.<\/p>\n
Howe and Nagelsmann stand out as the two most prominent options. Howe brings Premier League experience from Bournemouth and Newcastle United, while Nagelsmann has only managed in Germany. Their profiles are very different: Howe has built teams on intensity and a high press, whereas Nagelsmann became known for shaping RB Leipzig around possession after reducing their chaotic off-ball work.<\/p>\n
Carrick\u2019s own post-match demeanour reflected the scale of the setback. After the midweek loss to Como, he had gone straight to the travelling supporters and apologised. Following Sunday\u2019s collapse, he again appeared emotional but rejected the suggestion that he was saying farewell. \u201cNo, not from me,\u201d he said. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a tear, just appreciation for the fans and what they\u2019ve showed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI\u2019ve got the energy for sure-it means so much to me,\u201d before stressing that he still enjoys the responsibility of working with the squad. He also admitted the scale of United\u2019s problems, with results described as their worst in 40 years, saying he would \u201ctake responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n
When asked directly whether he expected to be sacked, Carrick replied: \u201cI\u2019m not expecting anything. It\u2019s just digesting today-we knew it was an important day to try and get us moving forward, and we haven\u2019t done that. For me it\u2019s just digesting that, and the emotions at the end of the game is something I\u2019ve not really had before.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Carrick may be on the way out after Bournemouth\u2019s win, with Howe and Nagelsmann linked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[1836,59,182],"class_list":["post-22069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-united","tag-2026-27-premier-league","tag-featured","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}