Nobody at Old Trafford has said Michael Carrick is finished. Yet the club are already doing the sums on what comes next, and one name keeps surfacing: Eddie Howe. BBC Sport reports that United are considering another British coach if Carrick cannot stop the slide, only this time one with far more miles on the clock.
A Contender Whether Fans Like It or Not
Howe has been out of work since he left Newcastle in the summer, and his record explains the interest. He took over a Bournemouth side facing relegation from League Two in January 2009 and led them to the Premier League in 2015. Newcastle came next, in 2021. He pulled them out of relegation trouble, twice delivered Champions League qualification, and won the EFL Cup in 2025, the club's first trophy in 56 years.
Not everyone is sold. Sections of the United fanbase have been loud on social media, arguing he is not a big enough name. Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt stopped short of backing him on their podcast, although BBC Sport points out both spoke in favour of the 48-year-old when Ruben Amorim was sacked in January. Roy Keane, Darren Bent, Gareth Barry and Jack Wilshere have all said he could be the man.
What It Would Cost
Money matters here. Carrick and his staff would have to be paid off before United even start on a new head coach's package. The details of Howe's exit agreement with Newcastle are confidential, but BBC Sport understands any club or national team hiring him would owe the Magpies a seven-figure fee. The structure shrinks over time. It is understood to have started at £6m and has already halved, and it expires before the end of the season, when he can be appointed for nothing.
A maximum of £3m is small change in this sport. Still, United have spent heavily on hiring and sacking managers in recent years, so chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Jason Wilcox may not be keen to add to the bill.
Would He Fit the Structure?
At Bournemouth and Newcastle, Howe built real power across the football department, including recruitment. That worked financially for his employers. Nathan Ake, Callum Wilson and Tyrone Mings were signed under him at Bournemouth and sold at a profit, while Newcastle moved on Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak for more than they cost. At Old Trafford, with Berrada, Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell in place, he would not get that autonomy straight away. Howe has said he is happy to work with sporting directors, though, and did exactly that at both previous clubs.
The view inside the building is split. Wilcox is thought to favour Howe, while Vivell is said to prefer former Bayern Munich and Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. Berrada will weigh those recommendations, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer co-chairs holding the final say. Saturday's game against Chelsea is likely to shape what happens to Carrick first. Whether Howe would even want the job, nobody outside his circle can say.
Transfer context: Eddie Howe, 48, is without a club after leaving Newcastle United in the summer. Compensation owed to Newcastle is understood to have fallen from £6m to roughly £3m and to expire before the end of the season. Manchester United play Chelsea on Saturday. Source: BBC Sport.
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