Unai Emery and Julian Nagelsmann have emerged as the leading targets to replace Michael Carrick as Manchester United’s head coach, should the board decide to make a change following the club’s poorest start to a season since 1986.
Carrick is expected to remain in charge for Sunday’s visit of Bournemouth and is due to hold his pre-match media conference on Friday, but his position is in the balance after just two wins from 11 games this season. Wednesday’s 4-1 humiliation at Como in the Champions League has sharpened the focus at Old Trafford on who might take over, with both Emery and Nagelsmann understood to have admirers at board level.
Emery’s situation is the more complicated of the two. The 54-year-old is under contract at Aston Villa until 2029 and has impressed since arriving in 2022, winning the Europa League last season — the club’s first major trophy since 1996 — and finishing fourth, one place behind United. He has also collected silverware with Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and Villarreal, alongside a less successful spell at Arsenal. However, Emery earns between £10m and £12m a year, meaning the compensation package United would have to pay Villa could prove a stumbling block.
Nagelsmann, by contrast, is available. The 39-year-old has been out of work since leaving his role as Germany’s manager in the wake of the team’s last-32 World Cup exit in the summer. He previously managed Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga in 2022 before being sacked in March 2023, and he guided Germany to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Spain. He is highly regarded by United’s head of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, and it is understood he would be interested in an approach from the club.
Other names who may be considered include Antonio Conte, Eddie Howe and Kieran McKenna, all of whom are out of work after leaving Napoli, Newcastle and Ipswich respectively. Fabian Hürzeler, meanwhile, is understood not to be open to leaving Brighton at this stage.
Separately, Bruno Fernandes’s house was the target of a break-in while United’s captain was away with the team at the Como defeat. His family were not at home and the intruders were inside for less than five minutes before police arrived. The club is supporting Fernandes and his family and has asked for privacy during what it described as a difficult time. The 32-year-old midfielder is not expected to face any disciplinary action for his criticism of Carrick on Wednesday, when he questioned the head coach’s tactics after the defeat in Italy.