Graeme Bailey says Michael Carrick will leave Manchester United by the November international break. Unconfirmed: the club and INEOS have said nothing.
Graeme Bailey says Michael Carrick will be out of Manchester United by the November international break. That is unconfirmed: neither the club nor INEOS has issued a statement on his future.
Bailey's wording is hedged: "He will be leaving Old Trafford by the international break in my opinion, and from what I’m hearing." Opinion plus hearsay, then a firm conclusion. His reasoning: "Jason Wilcox isn’t going to resign, the players aren’t going to be sold, so the one big change they can make is Michael Carrick. And that will happen." He adds that "Eddie Howe is still the leading candidate here."
What is known
United lost 2-0 at Chelsea, stretching their winless run to nine matches in all competitions. TEAMtalk says it made this United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season. It followed a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, and Football365 describes a slide that leaves Carrick facing a major fight to keep his job.
Carrick told TNT Sports after the match that he would remain in charge. Travelling fans applauded him and sang his name at full-time, aiming their frustration at the hierarchy and the out-of-form players.
The Athletic reported that crisis talks after the Como and Bournemouth defeats produced an agreement to keep him until the break, then reassess. That covers Roma and Aston Villa. It fits Bailey's timeline, but a reassessment is not a decision.
We laid out the competing accounts in our earlier rumour piece.
What does not add up
A report emerging from Spain, cited by Football365, says Carrick is expected to be "sacked immediately" and that Julian Nagelsmann will be offered the job with an "incredibly high salary". The same report claims Thomas Frank has overtaken Howe and Antonio Conte. Bailey says Howe leads. TEAMtalk's version of Fabrizio Romano's report says Howe is not the dream target.
Competing accounts, competing names. That is a lot of names for a job that, officially, is not vacant.
What is missing
None of the accounts reports formal contact or an offer to any candidate. Nor do they settle whether Carrick goes now or after Roma and Villa, or where the hierarchy actually stands.
On the scorecard: a departure prediction that matches The Athletic's timeline, attached to a replacement market that cannot agree with itself. Open.
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Sources
Meanwhile at the desk
Nine matches without a win, a 3-0 and a 2-0 in the last two. The pitch has filed its own report, and it does not need an outlet to carry it.
Competing accounts, competing names, and the club has said nothing. Until someone with a signature speaks, this is a list of names, not a plan.
Follow the story
- Man Utd weigh Carrick future after Chelsea defeat as reports identify replacement targets
- · You are hereCarrick to leave Man Utd by November break? Bailey says so, unconfirmed
