Manchester United officially announced that Ruben Amorim has stepped down from his position as the club's manager, with Darren Fletcher named as the interim boss.
Michael Carrick has emerged as the leading candidate for Manchester United’s interim manager role, set to take charge until the end of the season, with the club expected to make the final appointment within the next 48 hours.
On Sunday afternoon, following United’s FA Cup exit at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion at home, the hierarchy at Old Trafford turned their attention once again to finding Ruben Amorim’s successor.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who managed United for three years, has also been a key consideration for the club, which held further talks with both Carrick and the Norwegian over the weekend.
Sources have revealed that Carrick impressed during the discussions. The 44-year-old spent 12 years playing for Manchester United and briefly served as caretaker manager in 2021.
United’s top brass insisted on Sunday evening that the appointment was not yet finalized, but sources now believe Carrick has pulled ahead of Solskjaer to land the managerial position.
Solskjaer, who was in charge of United from 2018 to 2021, was initially regarded as the main candidate, but Carrick is expected to be the club’s first choice as it looks to turn around its dismal form this season.
During his playing career at Old Trafford, Carrick won five Premier League titles before retiring in 2018. He stepped in as caretaker manager briefly after Solskjaer’s departure and before the arrival of Ralf Rangnick.
Darren Fletcher—who was promoted from the U18s to take charge of the team for Sunday’s defeat to Brighton—and Ruud van Nistelrooy were also previously in the running for the role. United aims to find a long-term successor to Amorim in the summer.
After the 1-2 loss to Brighton, Fletcher told United’s stars that they would be playing for their futures for the remainder of the season.
Despite Benjamin Sesko scoring a late header, goals from Brayan Gruev and Danny Welbeck were enough to secure Brighton’s victory over United. The defeat means that with only 17 games left to play this season, United is facing the shortest campaign (40 games) since the 1914-15 season.
