Manchester United have chosen tactics over vibes but are treading familiar ground with the appointment of Michael Carrick, which is reportedly set to be announced within the next 48 hours.

According to the Daily Mail, Carrick will become the Red Devils’ interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025/26 season, with a permanent successor to Ruben Amorim expected to be appointed in the summer.

Michael Carrick to Man Utd: What to know

• Carrick met with Man Utd hierarchy last Thursday, Solskjaer on Saturday
• 17 remaining Premier League games only fixtures left in 2025/26
• Top 5 finish the aim
• Red Devils only 1 point behind 5th-place Brentford

Carrick and former Unitedmanager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were the two candidates considered for the interim role, but the club’s hierarchy ultimately decided against bringing the latter back to Old Trafford after holding talks with both.

Carrick was sacked by Middlesbrough at the end of last season following a 10th-place finish in the Championship, while Solskjaer was dismissed as Besiktas boss in August after the Turkish club exited both the Europa League and Europa Conference League during the qualifying rounds.

The 44-year-old previously served on Solskjaer’s coaching staff and, following the Norwegian’s sacking in November 2021, stepped into a caretaker role himself. Carrick oversaw wins against Villarreal in the Champions League and Arsenal in the Premier League, as well as a draw with Chelsea.

Ralf Rangnick was then appointed interim boss for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, and now Carrick has again been tasked with seeing out 2025/26.

Darren Fletcher has been in caretaker charge since Amorim’s departure and was unable to guide United into the fourth round of the FA Cup, losing 2-1 at home to Brighton on Sunday.

It will be a 40-game season for United, with Carrick’s sole objective qualifying for the Champions League via a top-five Premier League finish.

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Carrick ‘beats’ Solskjaer to Man Utd job

The Daily Mailreports that Carrick has ‘beaten’ Solskjaer to the role, with an announcement expected within the next 48 hours following talks with the club’s hierarchy.

However, finalising Carrick’s backroom staff remains a priority, making a Monday announcement ‘unlikely’.

United’s players are currently on a two-day break following their FA Cup exit, with the hope that Carrick will take charge of training on Wednesday upon their return.

Carrick reportedly ‘impressed’ in talks and convinced United that he is the right man for the job ahead of Solskjaer.

Fabrizio Romano also confirmed the development, stating that Carrick has ‘accepted all conditions of Manchester United’s contract proposal’.

Carrick over Solskjaer is tactics over vibes

Had Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada opted for Solskjaer, they would have prioritised good vibes over tactics. With Carrick, however, they are getting a more tactically astute coach and someone who commands respect in the dressing room, having won five Premier League titles as a player at Old Trafford.

Bringing Solskjaer back would have seen United tread old ground, even if the ownership group is different from the one that sacked him more than four years ago.

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Still, appointing an interim manager for six months is familiar territory. The previous board did the same with Solskjaer, then again with Rangnick, before Erik ten Hag was eventually appointed on a three-year contract in April 2022.

Solskjaer was outstanding during his interim spell, winning 14 of his 19 matches, but the wheels came off after he was handed the job permanently.

Rangnick’s tenure, meanwhile, was a disaster. Part of his agreement involved moving into an advisory role at the end of the 2021/22 season, but even that failed to materialise after Ten Hag decided he did not want to work with the German.

This latest appointment feels like another disaster waiting to happen.

That said, appointing Amorim mid-season proved to be a bigger calamity than any permanent managerial decisionsince Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

This does not feel like Ratcliffe and his team learning from past mistakes. Rather, it feels like a club still unsure of what it is doing, and Fletcher looked visibly broken by the experience of overseeing just two matches.

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