Eddie Howe is a contender for the Manchester United job if Michael Carrick leaves, BBC Sport reports. United have just given Carrick time to turn it around.
Eddie Howe is a contender for the Manchester United job, according to BBC Sport, in the event Michael Carrick loses it. It is a story about a vacancy that does not yet exist.
What is reported
BBC Sport says United are considering Howe if Carrick goes. It adds that director of football Jason Wilcox is thought to favour him, while director of recruitment Christopher Vivell prefers Julian Nagelsmann. Chief executive Omar Berrada is part of the process too, but BBC Sport says the final say belongs to minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co-chairs Joel and Avram Glazer.
The Standard says Howe is the bookmakers' favourite and that reports suggest he has been researching the team. BetFair has him at 4/6, Nagelsmann at 5/2 and Antonio Conte at 5/1. That is a bookmaker's price, not a hiring decision.
What is known
Howe has been out of work since leaving Newcastle in the summer. BBC Sport says any club hiring him owes Newcastle compensation that started at £6m, has halved to £3m and is understood to hit zero before the end of the season. He is 48, won the EFL Cup with Newcastle in 2025 and took Bournemouth from League Two trouble to the Premier League.
The Standard says United decided this week to give Carrick the chance to turn things around.
What is not known
Whether Carrick goes. The Standard says it is not yet clear that United plan to dispense with him. Neither report quotes Howe, United or Newcastle, so there is no denial and no confirmation to weigh. Nor do they say whether Howe would take the job.
The pundits are split. BBC Sport says Roy Keane, Darren Bent, Gareth Barry and Jack Wilshere have backed him. Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt stopped short of that on their podcast, though BBC Sport notes they spoke in favour of his potential appointment when Ruben Amorim was sacked in January.
The read
The shape is credible: a favourite in the betting, a director said to be in his corner and a fee falling to nothing. But a director's preference is not a mandate, and the people with the final say have not been heard from in either piece. Status: open.
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Sources
Meanwhile at the desk
A manager who took Newcastle into the Champions League twice and sold his signings for profit has a case. Whether he fits a squad built by six managers is the question I'd ask.
The compensation fee falls to zero before the end of the season, which is the one number here that will not change United's mind. Who gets the final say, and who gets blamed, is a longer list.
