Wayne Rooney highlighted Michael Carrick’s desire to connect the academy to the first team as one of the reasons he should be given the Manchester United job on a permanent basis.

Since being appointed, Carrick has impressed in his interim role and put together an unbeaten run of five games including wins against Manchester City and Arsenal but the question remains over whether he will be given the role full-time in the summer.

Unitedhave history of appointing an interim boss only to make it a full-time deal after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over in December 2018 to then be given the full-time gig the following March.

So far, the current United decision-makers have not suggested whether Carrick will or will not be given the role but the club has been linked with the likes of Luis Enrique who is rumoured to want a new challenge away from PSG.

Rooney though said that Carrick should be considered given how much he has made the club connected again.

“We talk about Luis Enrique and stuff,” he said on the Overlap. “And I think [United have] been there and tried different managers, between Mourinho and Van Gaal, then we saw the likes of Ten Hag and Amorim, which don’t work.

“I just think for me, it kind of makes sense [to stick with Carrick]. I felt that from the minute he was mentioned of going in, not because, obviously we played together and we’re friends, I just think he’s a real calming influence.

“I’ve got two boys in the academy, I’ve spoke about this a lot, there was a massive disconnect from the academy and the first team. Whether people say that’s right or wrong, and immediately, what we’ve seen is this connection come back together, which Man United was known for.

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“It was known to be a family club, and Michael’s done that actually in a very short period of time, where we’re seeing the first team coaches at the academy games, and there’s a real interest in the academy.”

Rooney reflected on a time when he and Carrick would wait in the car park for their kids in the academy and suggested that the club should have done more to reach out to former players.

“I was there with Michael, our boys in the same academy team, and we used to sit in the car and have a sleep in the car park, the two of us.

“[You have] two players that were very experienced, that know the football club. Just even someone to come out and say ‘can we have 10 minutes with you to just have a word, just to see what you feel about the football club.

“And I really believe – people might agree, might disagree greater – having someone in there who knows the club, cares the club, it makes a big difference.”

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