Manchester United's crisis has deepened with the side slipping into the Premier League relegation zone, and Michael Carrick is on the brink of the sack as manager.
The pressure has been mounting on Carrick following a disappointing start to the season, and the situation took a turn for the worse this weekend as, without kicking a ball, Man Utd slipped into the relegation zone after Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City at the City Ground.
Pressure mounts after poor run
While Tuesday night's comeback win over Roma in the Champions League allowed Carrick to survive another day in the Old Trafford hot-seat, the former midfielder will be aware that he is not out of the woods just yet. Man Utd are, at the time of writing, 4-2 down at home to Aston Villa thanks to another calamitous performance.
As reported by The Athletic last week, United hierarchy held talks about Carrick's future as head coach following the 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth on October 25. Carrick had been widely expected to be sacked at that point and then again after Man Utd were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea in the Premier League, a result that sent them crashing down the table.
However, it was agreed that Carrick would oversee the Roma and Aston Villa games before his situation would be reassessed prior to the international break. Now, even though Carrick ended a nine-game run without a victory in thrilling fashion against Roma, pressure still remains as the first half performance on Tuesday night was a disaster and United could have easily found themselves three or four goals down at half-time.
Who decides Carrick's future?
As per reports, Manchester United's football operations leadership, chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox hold all the power with regards to Carrick's future. The pair were both in attendance at Stamford Bridge last weekend and at Old Trafford on Tuesday, amid reports of being involved in discussions over potential replacements.
Taking into account that Carrick held crisis talks with Berrada and Wilcox after the Bournemouth game, they would all - along with minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe - be expected to meet at Carrington following the Villa fixture.
Potential replacements named
Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann are leading contenders to replace Carrick if he was to be sacked as Man United head coach. Both are currently free agents after leaving Newcastle and the Germany national team respectively during the summer, but Howe's Premier League experience may be the deciding factor if a change is made.
According to the Guardian, Howe is the current preferred candidate of Wilcox, but Nagelsmann is highly regarded by Christopher Vivell, Man United's head of recruitment, to replace Carrick which means there is the potential of a power struggle at board level. However, a spanner could be thrown in the works, with German outlet Bild claiming that Bayern Munich are interested in appointing Vivell.
Furthermore, in a boost for Man Utd if they end up pursuing Howe, they will only have to pay Newcastle a compensation fee of £6million. Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has ruled himself out of the running despite being tipped to become the next Man United manager by Paul Scholes. Antonio Conte has made it clear that he would be interested in a return to English football, but a move for Unai Emery appears unlikely with the Spaniard poised to sign a new deal at Villa Park.
Interestingly, Sky Sports have reported that United will NOT hire another interim manager should Carrick be sacked, suggesting a contingency plan is already in place should there be a need for an immediate change. In an extraordinary twist, Didier Deschamps has reportedly turned down an approach over the Man United manager's job, as more details emerge over the future of Michael Carrick. A new wildcard name in the frame is Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness, who his appointment would be considered another big gamble.
