Manchester United face a big decision this summer over whether to appoint Michael Carrick on a permanent basis.
Michael Carrick has won eight of 12 matches as Manchester United head coach, to lead the team into third place.
Carrick took over when United were in sixth place in the Premier League. Ruben Amorim had already made a big improvement on the disastrous 2024/25 season when the team finished 15th.
Amorim was fired in January, with Ineos confident that the United squad was capable of better than what he was delivering, despite the improvement.
They were clearly right. Carrick has taken United forward. It is in direct contrast to Liam Rosenior at Chelsea, appointed at the same time. He has already been fired, with the Blues going backwards.
The straightforward decision might be to appoint Carrick on a permanent basis.
But we are not there yet. Ineos are taking their time to review the situation.
If not Michael Carrick… WHO ELSE?
Can you name a good available alternative to Michael Carrick you actually want?
Ineos have played their part, and will be confident of more of the same
Ineos must take credit for the turnaround in Manchester United’s fortunes. The decision to fire Amorim and hire Carrick is only one part of that.
United had already improved under Amorim after last season’s low ebb.
Opinions will be split on whether Amorim played an integral part in this, or whether he was actually holding the team back, as Ineos eventually agreed.
The key reason to the improvement was the transfer business in summer 2025.
United brought in Senne Lammens, Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. Four key first team players, who were proven Premier League players and two rising stars. All four have been terrific buys.
The strong business was also reflected with outgoings. Alejandro Garnacho and Antony were sold, while Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, Jadon Sancho and Andre Onana were all sent out on loan.
Ineos reshaped the squad, and it was this transfer business that laid the foundation for Manchester United’s improvement.
So why not back themselves to do it all over again?
United have huge objectives in summer 2026. Casemiro must be replaced with his contract expiring, while Manuel Ugarte is also expected to be moved on, and another midfielder brought in.
With European qualification, United will also need depth in various positions. There is a lot of work to do.
Ineos have now earned the trust of fans with their transfer strategy, and another strong window can continue the team’s upwards progression.
But what does that all mean for Michael Carrick?
Who do you think will be Man Utd manager at the start of the 2026/27 season?
🔮 Let us know who you believe will and should be in charge? Who will Ineos appoint?
Ineos are creating structure where any manager can thrive
Ineos have shown they have built a squad where any manager can thrive. Ruben Amorim was statistically the worst United manager ever – yet he still took the team to sixth in the league this season.
Carrick has been an improvement, working with the same resources as his predecessor.
But what if Ineos believe there is another manager with a higher upside?
Carrick has been successful this season partly because Ineos have built a strong squad for him to work with. And that’s the whole idea of a sporting director structure.
The head coach is supposed to be interchangeable.
We have seen this at clubs like Brentford and Brighton, where there are changes in the dugout, and the next man comes in and achieves similar or greater success, because of the structure in place.
With another strong transfer window this summer, Ineos could set up any top manager for a serious push for trophies next season.
They should be confident that they could pluck any elite manager into the squad they are building, and expect elite results.
Ineos have made Carrick’s job simpler by giving him a good squad of players.
And they can do the same again by improving the squad further for 2026/27.
But where it gets complicated is whether they believe another candidate is worth taking a swing on.
Essentially they would be backing themselves over Carrick.
The simple move is to ride it out with Carrick and see where he could take us.
But if we are sitting here in April 2027 at the top of the league with a different head coach in charge, nobody will be complaining that Ineos made the change.
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