A list is forming, but no decision has been made
Manchester United have started to think about life after Michael Carrick, even though Carrick remains in charge for now. According to sources cited by BBC Sport, Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann are emerging as early contenders to become the club's next head coach if Carrick loses his job after a poor start to the season.
That wording matters. This is not an announcement, and it is not a sacking. It is the early stage of contingency planning, the kind of work big clubs do when results turn bad and the pressure on a manager grows. The BBC Sport sources say both Howe and Nagelsmann are aware of United's interest, and both are out of work, which would make an appointment simpler than prising a manager away from another club.
Carrick, a former United midfielder, took the job with high hopes and a clear brief to restore stability. A poor run of results has changed the mood around him, and the club's hierarchy is now, according to BBC Sport, weighing alternatives. Readers should treat every name in this story as reported interest, not as a done deal, because that is how the sources present it.
For ongoing football coverage, see Verity Sports.
Why Howe is in the frame
Eddie Howe, 48, is the most familiar name on the list for English football fans. Multiple sources told BBC Sport that the former Newcastle United boss is fully open to joining United, according to the BBC account. That openness matters, because United do not want a long and public pursuit of a manager who is reluctant to move.
Howe's record at Newcastle explains the interest. He led the club to League Cup glory in 2025, ending a 56 year wait for a major trophy. He also secured Champions League qualification twice in five years, turning a team that had been fighting relegation into a regular contender for Europe's top competition.
Before Newcastle, Howe built his reputation at Bournemouth, where he took a small club from the lower divisions to the Premier League and kept them there. That long term building work, rather than a single cup run, is what many United supporters point to when they argue for him. He is known for detailed coaching, for improving players, and for creating a clear style of play.
There is a complication, though not a fatal one. Howe left Newcastle, and the circumstances of that departure will be examined if United move for him. For now, the key point from BBC Sport sources is simpler. He is available, he is interested in principle, and he is understood to be open to the job if it becomes vacant.
Why Nagelsmann is in the frame
Julian Nagelsmann, 39, offers a different profile. He is younger, he has worked at the highest level in Germany, and he is available after leaving the Germany head coach job after the World Cup, according to the BBC account.
Nagelsmann built his reputation at Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, two clubs known for developing young players and playing fast, attacking football. He then won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2022, before being sacked the following season. That mixed record at Bayern is part of his story. He showed he could win a league title, but he also showed that even a title does not guarantee patience at a club of Bayern's size.
As Germany coach, he worked with a national team in transition, balancing experienced players with a new generation. Leaving that job after the World Cup has left him free at a time when United may need a new head coach, and BBC Sport sources place him high on the early list for that reason.
United have often looked abroad for managers, and Nagelsmann's experience in the Champions League and in a major domestic league would fit the usual brief. His age also fits a longer term plan, if the club wants a coach who could stay for several years rather than a short term fix.
Manchester United playing at Old Trafford in a European match
Credit: Ardfern, via Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed own work.
Conte and Emery: the other names to watch
Two other names appear in the BBC Sport reporting, and they show how wide the early thinking is. Antonio Conte, 57, is also out of work and is interested in the job, according to BBC Sport sources. Conte won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2017 and the FA Cup in 2018, and he has a record of delivering titles quickly at several clubs.
Conte's style is very different from Howe's or Nagelsmann's. He is known for demanding, highly organised teams, for a back three system, and for short, intense spells at clubs rather than long rebuilds. That history cuts both ways. United would get a proven winner, but they would also get a manager who has often clashed with club hierarchies over transfers and control.
Unai Emery is the fourth name, but his situation is different. The Aston Villa boss is admired at United, according to the BBC account, but he is under contract. That makes him a harder target than Howe, Nagelsmann or Conte, all of whom could be appointed without a compensation negotiation with another club.
Emery's admiration at United is easy to understand. He has turned Villa into a Champions League club and has a strong European record, including multiple Europa League titles. But admiration is not the same as availability, and for now he remains a respected name in the background rather than a leading contender.
More football and general sports news can be found through Verity News and on the Verity homepage.
What Carrick faces
It is important to be clear about Carrick's current position. He has not been sacked. The reporting is about what would happen if he is dismissed, not about a decision already taken. That distinction is often lost in transfer style reporting, but it matters for fairness to the manager and for accuracy.
United's recent form is the reason for the speculation. The club has had a poor start to the season, and the pressure that comes with managing Manchester United is intense at the best of times. When results fall short, the manager is usually the first person under scrutiny, even when problems run deeper.
Some at the club, according to wider reporting around the BBC story, believe repeated managerial changes have not fixed United's decline, and that Carrick deserves more time. Others believe a change is needed to arrest the slide. That debate is familiar to United supporters, who have watched several managers come and go since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
If Carrick is dismissed, United would be seeking their eighth permanent manager or head coach since Ferguson left, according to the BBC account. That number tells its own story. It suggests a club that has struggled to find lasting stability, whatever the quality of individual managers.
The Ferguson shadow
Every United manager since 2013 has worked in the shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson, who led the club for 26 years and won 13 Premier League titles. That legacy creates expectations that are almost impossible to meet, and it shapes how every successor is judged.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim all had different strengths, and all left without restoring United to the top of English football for a sustained period. Carrick, as a former player under Ferguson, understood that history better than most, but understanding it does not make the job easier.
The next appointment, whenever it comes, will face the same challenge. United need a coach who can improve results quickly, develop young players, handle a huge media spotlight, and work within a structure that has changed several times in recent years. Howe, Nagelsmann and Conte each offer part of that package, but none offers all of it without risk.
That is why the club's early list matters, but also why it should not be over read. Early lists change. Names rise and fall as form changes, as other clubs act, and as the hierarchy decides what kind of manager it really wants.
For background on the club, see the Premier League and UEFA sites, and the club's own site at Manchester United. Wider football reporting is available from Sky Sports and the Bundesliga.
What happens next
The immediate future is straightforward. Carrick remains in charge until United say otherwise, and the next match will be judged as much for the performance as for the result. A win can change the mood quickly at a big club. Another poor result will only increase the speculation.
If United do decide to act, availability will be a major factor. Howe and Nagelsmann are out of work, which means talks could move fast. Conte is in the same position. Emery would take longer, and would require Villa's cooperation, which cannot be assumed.
Timing also matters. A change in mid season gives a new manager little time to reshape a squad, but it can still provide a lift. A change at the end of the season allows a fuller rebuild, but it risks wasting months on a manager the hierarchy no longer trusts. United have tried both approaches in recent years, with mixed results.
For now, supporters should read the BBC Sport reporting for what it is. Howe and Nagelsmann are high on an early list, Conte is interested, Emery is admired, and Carrick is still in the job. The rest is speculation, and it will only become news when United make a decision.
Further background is available in the About section, which explains how Verity attributes transfer and manager stories to their sources. Wider context also appears in Verity World and Verity Technology.
