If Manchester United qualify for the Champions League, it will be very difficult for the club’s leaders to look to anyone other than Michael Carrick for the head coaching role beyond the summer.
According to the latest Opta predictions, United have an 85.57% chance of qualifying for the Champions League this season.
United bosses remain tight-lipped about their plans for next season, but Sky Sports News understands they have not yet made contact with other candidates.
Probability of Champions League qualification by top 4 (%) (5th place qualification has not yet been determined)
The most important sentiment is that there is no need to make hasty decisions when the team is performing very well. Carrick’s record of 23 points out of 30 and just one defeat in 10 games has put his team at the top of the Premier League table and has led to calls for him to take over as head coach now.
But United’s top brass will continue to ignore these voices until they are convinced that Carrick is the right man to take the club forward in the long term.
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Carrick’s case to remain in charge at Old Trafford was further strengthened after manager Thomas Tuchel recently signed a contract extension with England and Carlo Ancelotti said he intended to do a similar extension with Brazil.
If United decide to appoint someone else, they believe it will be a manager of the stature and experience who can handle the scale of the job and the media scrutiny, so Ancelotti and Tuchel are likely to be high on the list of candidates the club would like to negotiate with.
History also teaches British kingmakers to be cautious. Almost exactly seven years ago, Carrick was part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff when the Norwegian went on an eight-game winning streak at the start of his interim spell.
Solskjaer was given the job on a permanent basis in March 2019 and signed a three-year contract, but since then they have won only one of their seven games and finished sixth in the Premier League.
However, in the following two seasons he achieved consecutive top three finishes in the Premier League and also helped Manchester United reach the Europa League final.
As it stands, Director of Football Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berada are keeping the powder dry and their options open as they continue to do their due diligence on all potential candidates.
