Manchester United have one league win in ten, and they intend to sack Michael Carrick before the trip to Anfield
The Athletic reports United have started work on replacements, with Mauricio Pochettino high on the list, though the club insist no final decision has been made.
Nov 10, 2026
Manchester United intend to sack Michael Carrick. That was the word from The Athletic’s David Ornstein on Monday night, after United’s hierarchy met the day after the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa at Old Trafford. United told The Athletic that no final decision had been made and nothing was set in stone, but work on replacements has started, and several sources expect a change before United go to Liverpool on 22 November.
Old Trafford sources were still saying on Monday evening that no decision had been taken. Nobody reading the table will be surprised by the direction of travel.
One league win in ten
United are 18th after ten games, with one win, five draws and four defeats. Their 8 points leave them a point behind Nottingham Forest and Coventry City, and level with Sunderland, who are 19th on goal difference. The only league win came against Ipswich Town in August.
The last few weeks have been brutal. United lost 4-1 at Como in the Champions League, then 3-0 at home to Bournemouth, which is when director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada are reported to have seriously considered sacking Carrick. They gave him more time. Since then United have lost 2-0 at Chelsea, come from 2-0 down to beat Roma 3-2, and needed Patrick Dorgu’s header in the 96th minute on Sunday to save a point against Villa after trailing 2-0 inside four minutes.
The international break is the obvious window. After Anfield, United have no free midweek until mid-December.
From third to the bottom three
It is a sharp fall for a coach who was handed the job on merit six months ago. Carrick took over as interim after Ruben Amorim was sacked in January, took United from seventh to third and back into the Champions League, and signed a two-year contract to June 2028 on 22 May.
He has said he will not walk away. “I’m pretty clear where we need to go and how we need to get there,” he said after the Villa draw.
I have some sympathy. A lot of what went right in the spring has gone missing at the back, and that isn’t all on the coach. But United have conceded 19 league goals in ten games, and a club that sacked Amorim in his second season was never going to sit still in the bottom three.
Who could replace him
Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be high on the list, according to The Athletic. He is the United States head coach and extended that contract to 2030 three months ago, which would complicate any approach. Eddie Howe, out of work since leaving Newcastle, and Julian Nagelsmann, formerly of Bayern Munich and Germany, are also reported to have admirers at the club.
Wilcox is leading the process with Berrada, according to The Guardian, and will make a recommendation to Sir Jim Ratcliffe.