Carrick sacking causes bust up with Man Utd board

22 Oct 2026 17:01 BST |
2 min read

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Michael Carrick is causing ‘growing tension’ between higher ups at Manchester United who are having ‘differing opinions’ on replacing the under-pressure coach.

Carrick’s future has come into major doubt this week after another disappointing result with the 4-1 loss to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday, which led to captain Bruno Fernandes being the latest player to voice his discontent with the situation.

However, United are believed to be edging towards replacing 45-year-old despite only handing him the permanent job in May but the Daily Mail report that disagreements are coming between director of football Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell over Carrick’s potential replacement.

While there is said to be ‘sympathy’ with Carrick due to the situation he is in, particularly after a reluctant acceptance of Lisandro Martinez’s complaints last week of a failure to recruit properly in the summer, United’s run of two wins from 11 games is proving pivotal.

Carrick is expected to take charge of United’s match against Bournemouth on Sunday and will take the usual pre-match press conference on Friday, however potential replacements are already understood to have been sounded out behind the scenes.

The cause of ‘discontent’ with the board is alleged to be Vivell’s desire to hire Julian Nagelsmann, while Wilcox – who is higher in the chain of command – prefers a Premier League-proven coach, with a shortlist of Eddie Howe, Fabian Hurzeler, Unai Emery and Antonio Conte as options if Carrick is to be replaced.

Man Utd in crisis: Fernandes and Carrick battle in media as executives struggle to identify frontrunner

United are reluctant to make yet another managerial change but they are aware that Carrick’s situation is likely to worsen before it gets better amid the declining performances and the disagreements between senior players and manager.

Fernandes spoke after the game of it being a ‘staff decision’ not to press opponents after a lacklustre display of effort and quality in the defeat to Como – provoking a strong response from Carrick.

“We half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that,” he said. “Whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win,” Carrick bluntly said when presented with Fernandes’ comments after the match.

With Fernandes also telling Italian media that there was ‘too much focus at United on what the club did in the past’, the Red Devils appear destined to be looking for their fourth manager in two years.

Having been assessed extensively by Vivell during his time with Chelsea and Red Bull, Nagelsmann is the director’s ideal choice for the job, having left his role with Germany during the summer after a disastrous 2026 World Cup.

Wilcox, meanwhile, would prefer a Premier League-experienced coach but that is unlikely to be Hurzeler, who does not have a release clause at Brighton and would be sceptical of joining United despite their admiration.

It would be a similar situation for Emery, while Howe and Conte, both out of work, pose risks for different reasons and it remains to be seen whether a consensus can be reached between United’s directors.

For now, Carrick remains in charge but a poor result against Bournemouth will likely signal the end of his brief and turbulent tenure, at which point United will be forced to assess options yet again for a new manager.

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