ENGLAND – Former Manchester United players, Michael Carrick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have emerged as the favorites in the race to become Manchester United’s caretaker manager for the rest of the 2025-26 season, with the dual set for face-to-face talks with the club’s leadership.
BBC on Wednesday reported that the pair “could also work together because Carrick was a significant part of Solskjaer’s coaching team when he replaced Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford in 2018.”
Darren Fletcher, who is currently Manchester United’s Under-18s coach has been tipped for the job and he will continue as interim manager until a caretaker is appointed. He will have first match on Wednesday 7th January, when United visit Burnley in the English Premier League faceoff.
The events follow the sacking of Ruben Amorim on Monday when his 14month tenure came to an end. The club is likely to get a permanent manager in the summer.
Solskjaer, the Norwegian football manager took charge in a similar way when United chased Jose Mourinho in 2018 and he consequently became the full manager for three years before he was sacked in 2021.
Following Solskjaer’s dismissal, Carrick got a three-game spell as temporary coach before he left the club in December 2021.
The former England midfielder has been out of work since he was sacked by Championship club Middlesbrough last year after two-and-a-half years in charge. Solskjaer was sacked by Turkish club Besiktas in August.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner and former Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi – now at Marseille – have been early contenders for the full-time job.