Manchester United's director of football Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell reportedly hold different views on who should replace Michael Carrick, with tensions rising between the pair. The Red Devils boss faces increasing pressure after the 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League.
Boardroom disagreement over next manager
According to the Daily Mail, senior figures at the club have accepted that summer recruitment was not good enough, with some sympathy for Carrick, who is without nine senior players. Vivell is reportedly pushing for Julian Nagelsmann, the former Bayern Munich and Germany boss who is out of work after leaving the national side in the summer.
Wilcox, who is above Vivell in the chain of command, reportedly favours a Premier League-proven manager. The director of football has drawn up a shortlist featuring Eddie Howe, Fabian Hurzeler, Unai Emery and Antonio Conte.
Player and staff tensions
Players have spoken out about the lack of investment in the squad during the summer, while Bruno Fernandes sparked debate after the Como defeat with comments about a lack of pressing. Carrick refuted those claims after the match, making the disagreement between players and staff clear.
Carrick has managed just two wins in 11 games, with results showing no sign of improvement. He is set to take charge of this weekend's clash with Bournemouth, but the report claims potential successors have already been sounded out.
Carrick's response to criticism
Speaking after the defeat, Carrick said: "Listen, I've not given my own position any thought. [My thoughts are] for the supporters – I was one of them watching that and I wasn't happy at all."
"It's not about me right now and my feelings in that regard. It's more of as a team and as a football club, what we want to look like, what we should look like. And as I said, the results can come and go at times, but you got to do it in a certain way. And that wasn't it."
