Eddie Howe: Top Choice for Manchester United if Carrick Departs

Manchester United’s powerbrokers are drawing up contingencies. Eddie Howe’s name sits at the top of the list.

Jason Wilcox, the club’s director of football, regards Howe as his preferred candidate to replace Michael Carrick if United’s wretched start forces a change in the dugout. For Wilcox, it is simple: proven, extensive Premier League experience, a track record of overachievement, and a temperament suited to the scrutiny that comes with the United job.

Howe walked away from Newcastle in late July, stepping back from the game after a demanding five-year spell on Tyneside. That sabbatical may not last long. Those close to the situation believe he would give serious consideration to an offer from Old Trafford if United decide to move on from Carrick.

Cost matters in this new era. Howe, currently unattached, would be significantly cheaper to appoint than Unai Emery, another figure admired within the club. Aston Villa are understood to want around £20m in compensation for their manager, a fee that would test even United’s appetite at a time when Sir Jim Ratcliffe is preaching discipline and structure across the football operation.

Howe’s Newcastle body of work

If Wilcox is pushing Howe, he has plenty of evidence to lean on.

When Howe arrived at Newcastle in November 2021, the club were winless in their first 14 league games and staring at relegation. He dragged them to 11th, winning 12 of the final 18 matches of that season. The turnaround was sharp, aggressive and organised, the sort of rescue act that sticks in the memory of executives tasked with making big calls.

The revival did not stop there. Under Howe, Newcastle ended a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by lifting the 2025 Carabao Cup, a landmark moment for a club long defined by its near-misses and frustrations. He also steered them back into the Champions League in 2023, two decades after their last appearance, and then qualified again two seasons later, establishing the club as a serious force in the top four conversation rather than a one-season curiosity.

Before all that, Howe had already written his name into Premier League folklore at Bournemouth. From 2015, he kept a modest, compact club in the top flight for five seasons, playing front-foot football against wealthier, deeper squads. That body of work, across two very different clubs, has convinced Wilcox that Howe can handle the weight and glare that come with Manchester United.

Nagelsmann admired, but Wilcox holds the cards

Inside United’s revamped structure, not everyone is fixated on Howe. Julian Nagelsmann, the former Germany and Bayern Munich coach, is highly regarded by Christopher Vivell, the club’s head of recruitment. Nagelsmann’s tactical reputation and age profile appeal to those who see United’s rebuild as a long-term, data-led project.

But this is Ratcliffe’s United now, and within that hierarchy Wilcox’s voice is expected to carry more weight on managerial appointments than Vivell’s. The football policy sits under the Ineos umbrella, and the director of football is central to that chain of command. If Wilcox pushes hard for Howe, the 46-year-old Englishman is likely to start any shortlist in pole position.

Carrick under strain as results bite

All of this swirls around Carrick as he prepares for what increasingly feels like a critical period in his tenure.

United have made their poorest start to a season since 1986. Two wins from 11 games have left the 45-year-old under intense scrutiny, with performances offering little comfort that results will turn quickly. The numbers are stark, the mood around the club darker still.

For now, Carrick remains in place. He is expected to lead the team into Sunday’s home match against Bournemouth and will hold his pre-game media conference on Friday as planned. That buys him time, but not security. His position is described as being “in the balance”, and everyone inside the club understands what that means in practical terms: a bad week could change everything.

The presence of credible, available alternatives such as Howe only tightens the pressure. Once a club begins to sketch out life after a manager, the clock rarely stops ticking.

A giant club looking ahead – on and off the pitch

While the football department wrestles with the manager question, United are also plotting a bold new chapter off the pitch.

The club has launched a survey inviting supporters to share their views on the design of a proposed 100,000-seat stadium, a project that would reshape the matchday experience and redefine Old Trafford’s place in the European landscape. The questionnaire will go out to season-ticket holders, cup season-ticket holders, executive club members, official members, supporters who have bought hospitality at Old Trafford in the past three years and those on the season-ticket waiting list.

It is a striking contrast. A club dreaming of a vast, modern arena to house its future, while the most immediate and volatile decision of all – who stands on the touchline – hangs unresolved.

If United do decide to act, Howe is waiting in the wings, rested, proven and firmly backed by the man entrusted with shaping the club’s football destiny. The only question now is how long Carrick can hold the line.