Manchester United is edging closer to a decision on the future of head coach Michael Carrick, BBC Sport has learned. The club decided to back Carrick following a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on 25 October, but intended to review the situation during this month's international break. Multiple sources claim the board remains committed to that process and that a final decision on Carrick's future has not yet been made.
However, expectations are rising that chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football operations Jason Wilcox will recommend to minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family that Carrick be sacked. A 4-4 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday means United have the worst home season start in 40 years. The team is 18th in the table, and with one win in 10 Premier League matches, has recorded the league's worst start since the 1986/87 season. It sits in 18th place, one point above bottom-placed Crystal Palace, while only Palace and Ipswich have conceded more than the 19 goals United have allowed in the Premier League this season.
BBC Sport reported in October that the club had enquired about former Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and former German head coach Julian Nagelsmann as replacements for Carrick. Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is known to be someone to whom the role is attractive. Multiple sources also claim that former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino is open to a move to Old Trafford. Pochettino signed a contract extension as US head coach in August, and it is believed the deal contains clauses that would allow him to leave for certain high-profile jobs. The US play two Concacaf Nations League play-off matches against Haiti on 14 and 18 November.
The draw with Villa was Carrick's third match in charge since the club decided to give the 45-year-old more time at Old Trafford. Results in that period have been a win, a draw and a loss. United's board toyed with sacking Carrick after the defeat by Bournemouth, but decided that the Englishman and his players deserved a chance to show they could turn the club's fortunes around. It was considered that the two-week international break in November presented a better opportunity for a thorough assessment of the club's season start.
The first 48 hours before United's season opener against Hull were crucial. Benjamin Sesko was still trying to recover from a shin injury that had cut short his previous season, while Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury that ruled him out for seven weeks. Carrick was thus left without his first alternative in attack, Bryan Mbeumo had to play on the right wing, and Carrick turned to Matheus Cunha, whose tendency to drop deep led him into spaces favoured by captain Bruno Fernandes. Former Norwegian and Middlesbrough striker Jan Aage Fjortoft later claimed United lacked passion, which Carrick dismissed as "laughable". Carrick subsequently told the media: "It is one game."
The following week, United were losing to Ipswich. A slide by Marcelino Núñez in his own half allowed Cunha to assist Fernandes for the equaliser. Fernandes had just been named PFA Player of the Year for 2025/26, and then completed a hat-trick in a 5-2 win. Since then, he has scored only one league goal – from a penalty against Villa on Sunday. After the win over Ipswich came a trip to Everton. United led twice, the second time when Sesko scored two minutes from the end after coming on from the bench. Deep into stoppage time, Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck from distance to deny the visitors. Asked how confident he was in his team's ability to respond to a disappointing season start, Carrick retorted: "It has not been that bad."
United struggled against Manchester City, who were reduced to 10 men in the first half. The rivals benefited from a goal by Erling Haaland for which referee Howard Webb later admitted should not have stood. After leading 2-0 in the first 10 minutes against Brighton in the EFL Cup, United were outplayed and lost, thanks to two goals in four minutes of the second half. Carrick called Cunha's stoppage-time strike against Fulham, a team that started the match at the bottom of the table, a positive on which to build. Immediately after the international break, United recorded another draw – conceding a stoppage-time goal from Tottenham, who were in poor form and down to 10 men. Lisandro Martínez scored an own goal against Fulham, was responsible for Spurs' equaliser, and gave a post-match statement after a 2-0 defeat by Atlético Madrid in the Champions League.
