Manchester United are set to confirm the permanent appointment of Michael Carrick imminently.
With 11 wins in his first 16 games in charge as interim head coach, Michael Carrick has hardly put a foot wrong with Manchester United.
Yet, there are still some question marks over Carrick’s appointment because of his lack of experience.
Pundits such as Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane urged United to sign a world-class coach instead of Carrick, and it seems Ineos had already tried and failed with Luis Enrique.
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Man United tried to appoint Luis Enrique in January
Speaking on the Fabrizio Romano YouTube channel, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed that Ineos reached out to Luis Enrique back in January.
“Luis Enrique was the secret dream of some important people at Manchester United,” Romano said.
“United tried around January to see if there was a chance to maybe get him to the club this summer, but it was not possible”.
Enrique was United’s dream appointment, and it is obvious why. He won the Champions League with PSG last season and is in the final again this campaign.
He has also been successful at Barcelona and with the Spain national team.
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Luis Enrique was the only option above Michael Carrick
As recently as this week, Rio Ferdinand said Enrique is the only threat to Carrick’s appointment at Old Trafford.
Carrick has done more than enough to earn a shot at the permanent United job, but the pedigree of Enrique is something that Ineos simply couldn’t ignore.
Ineos tried for Enrique and clearly felt it was impossible to pull off, so Carrick was the next best option.
Other candidates such as Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann were also occupied with other projects.
Now it is time for Ineos to double down on their decision and back Carrick heavily going into 2026/27.
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