Michael Carrick will not be Manchester United caretaker
Jose Mourinho has left Manchester United and now the club must turns its sights on appointing his immediate successor.
In their statement announcing the news, Manchester United said:
“A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”
Michael Carrick took training on Tuesday morning and the former United midfielder will be appointed as acting interim manager for the next 48-hours before returning solely to coaching duties.
This news sparked rumours that former midfielder would be taking over until the end of the season, but this has since been rubbished by BBC Sport journalist Simon Stone amongst others.
Stone has confirmed that the club will not be appointing Carrick in a temporary position until a permanent appointment is found.
He will, however, continue to take training at the Aon Complex in the meantime.
.@ManUtd caretaker WONT be Butt, Carrick or Wenger. Will be external. Carrick and McKenna to take training. Decision had to be taken in best interests of club it was felt.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) December 18, 2018
MailSport reporter Mike Keegan, meanwhile, has suggested that Mourinho’s replacement will be someone ‘steeped in the traditions of the club’, with an announcement expected before the weekend.
Bit more on caretaker manager at United. Will be someone 'steeped in the traditions of the club'. Not Carrick, Butt, Neville G or P. Currently tying up loose ends with other interests which are not expected to present any issues. Announcement expected before weekend. #mufc
— Mike Keegan (@MikeKeegan_DM) December 18, 2018
This has led to Carlos Queiroz, who served as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant between 2002-03 and 2004-08, being touted as a candidate to see the club through until the end of the season.
Queiroz is currently the manager of the Iranian National Team. He has taken them to the World Cup twice during his reign and was close to helping them escape their group with Portugal, Spain and Morocco at the finals in Russia last summer.
Laurent Blanc, given his ties with the club as a player and his immediate availability, is another name gaining traction. Whether the Frenchmen would be happy to take the job only to then be replaced in the summer remains to be seen.
Quieroz's name being touted as potential caretaker.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) December 18, 2018
Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is currently the favourite to take the position permanently, with bookies offering odds of 2/1. Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is close behind at 3/1, whilst you can get Antonio Conte and Laurent Blanc at 12/1.
