Michael Carrick is under immense pressure at Manchester United after an eight-match winless run left his position in serious doubt. Following Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth, the club have begun to consider a managerial change.
But who are the candidates and what should United do?
Eddie Howe
Current status: Available
Howe could appeal to United because he has already shown that he can turn a struggling Premier League side into a team capable of competing near the top of the table.
United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, favours the former Newcastle manager, who left St James’ Park in July. Wilcox believes his experience in English football could count in United’s favour and produce results without another lengthy period of adjustment.
Howe took charge of Newcastle in 2021 when they were threatened by relegation. Within two years, he had led them into the Champions League, and in 2025 they won the Carabao Cup, their first major domestic trophy in 70 years.
His teams are generally energetic and well organised, with an emphasis on pressing and attacking football. He has also improved players and built a competitive side without always having the spending power of the Premier League’s richest clubs.
United would not need to pay compensation to another club, and Howe is reportedly open to discussing the vacancy if it becomes available. That could make him a relatively straightforward appointment at a time when the club may be looking for a quick decision.
There would still be questions about whether his success at Newcastle could be repeated at Old Trafford. The pressure is greater at United, where every poor result attracts scrutiny.
Beyond establishing a clear playing style, Howe would need to manage a high-profile dressing room and show he can deliver consistently at a club with expectations far beyond those he faced when he arrived at Newcastle.
His record in England makes him a credible candidate, but the scale of the job would be a different test.
Julian Nagelsmann
Current status: Available
Nagelsmann would offer United a different proposition from Howe. The German is known for his tactical flexibility and pressing game, and has already worked at two of the biggest jobs in European football.
At 39, he has managed Bayern Munich and Germany. He won the Bundesliga with Bayern and led the national team to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, where they lost to eventual champions Spain.
His teams are known for their movement and pressing, which could appeal to United as they attempt to settle on a playing identity. There is also a connection with the club’s recruitment department. United’s head of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, knows Nagelsmann from their time at RB Leipzig and is understood to rate him highly.
But Nagelsmann’s underwhelming performance with Germany at the World Cup raises questions about whether he can succeed at United. Appointing him could blow up in the club’s face. It wouldn’t be the first time a manager with a German identity has come to United midway through the season and was unable to improve the team tactically or in pressing.
Unai Emery
Current status: Aston Villa manager
Emery has a strong record with Villa. Since taking charge of the club in 2022, he has turned them into regular contenders for Champions League qualification and competed against the biggest sides in the Premier League, who have much greater financial resources.
The Spaniard could bring a clear tactical approach to United. He has also shown that he can improve a club’s fortunes without needing several years to make an impact, but Emery has also previously failed at Arsenal and was not an astonishing success at Paris Saint-Germain, and United is closer to the size of those two clubs than Villa.
Perhaps Emery may be unable to replicate a similar level of success at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
It would also be difficult to persuade him to leave Villa. He has built a competitive side and has a project of his own at a club where he has been given the opportunity to shape the team.
Moving to Old Trafford would mean taking on a chaotic environment and abandoning a successful project he has led over the past half decade.
Antonio Conte:
Current status: Available
Conte is known for his demanding approach and his ability to improve teams quickly, and he has a record of winning league titles in England and Italy.
He won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2017 and has also enjoyed title-winning spells with Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli. His teams are usually well drilled and physically committed.
That could appeal to United if the priority is to restore discipline and raise standards. Conte would be unlikely to accept performances below his expectations, and his teams tend to have a clear idea of how they should play.
But he has also had falling outs with club executives and has been outspoken when he believes a team is not progressing as expected. Case in point: Tottenham. United would have to decide whether to appoint a manager who would have no qualms about challenging the hierarchy, something that partially led to Ruben Amorim’s exist just earlier this year.
Conte’s preference for a back three could also create problems if the current squad is not suited to the system. Again, with Amorim’s tenure a case in point.
Fabian Hurzeler
Current status: Brighton manager
In Hurzeler, United could turn to a younger coach who has built his reputation in the Premier League with brilliant tactics and player development.
But Hurzeler is a risky choice. Liverpool have gone down a similar route with Andoni Iraola, but there have also been examples of this kind of strategy turning out to be a dismal failure, like Graham Potter with Chelsea in 2022.
Hurzeler is also a very young manager. Taking charge at Old Trafford would be a significant step up from his current role. Will he be given the time to build a team, and does he have the clout to compel obedience and respect from United’s players?
Who should Manchester United appoint?
Howe and Nagelsmann appear to be the leading names in recent reports, but neither currently stands out as a manager who can be reasonably successful for the club in the long term. They seem like appointments that would put the club back in the same position it currently is now in a year or two.
United need a proven manager with significant weight, who will demand standards from the players or boot them out with backing from the board. And they need a manager who they can confidently back in coming transfer windows, someone for whose demands they can spend heavily on. And they must be willing to spend heavily.
Anything other than that is almost certain to perpetuate the cycle. Ultimately, it does not feel like any of the managers above can make much of a difference at the club without significant change in the board’s strategy.
