The Athletic - Chaos at Manchester United, Howe the favourite: two problems for Nagelsmann and Conte
Carrick’s future hangs by a thread and, perhaps, also hinges on the difficulty of choosing the ideal replacement.
A one-sided 4-1 defeat at Como in the Champions League has reopened the rift between Michael Carrick, the squad, the board and Manchester United fans. The Red Devils are pulling in different directions, and nobody is coming out a winner. They have made their worst start in terms of results since 2014-15, while the balance sheet will once again show a clear deficit.
Unless things improve quickly, the manager will once again pay the price. A match against Bournemouth, who comprehensively beat AC Milan in the Europa League, is looming. For now, he remains in his post more because finding the ideal replacement is difficult than because of any genuine desire to continue together.
According to The Athletic, the club are now considering three leading names: Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte.
Divided club
Each potential candidate presents difficulties, with one part of the chain of command struggling to align with the others.
The split is between the views of the man at the top, Sir Jim Ratcliff, the director of the sporting department, Jason Wilcox, and Michael Sansoni, the director of data and artificial intelligence, whose influence over the club's decisions keeps growing.
Howe is the favourite
Club sources have told The Athletic that the current favourite is Eddie Howe. The former Newcastle manager left in turbulent circumstances and is seen as the perfect man to revive a struggling club, just as he did with the Magpies.
After Erik ten Hag's departure, then sporting director Dan Ashworth had already recommended Howe to Manchester United, but Ratcliffe preferred to pay Amorim's release clause. The fallout led to the English executive's departure just a month after that decision.
NAGELSMANN
Yesterday, Thursday 22 October, Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler and Julian Nagelsmann, available after leaving the German national team, emerged as candidates.
Hurzeler ruled himself out as soon as the rumours emerged. United's head of personnel Christopher Vivell is pushing for Nagelsmann, while sporting director Jason Wilcox, with whom Vivell is often at odds, is pushing for Howe.
Conte
Finally, Antonio Conte has made it clear he is open to Manchester United, but he has also set out how he would handle the dressing room and transfers.
The former Napoli manager, who is also strongly linked with a return to Juventus, believes the squad needs a tougher approach and would not want the club's management to interfere if he were appointed.
Because of that, Data and AI director Michael Sansoni believes appointing Conte would carry a high risk of disagreements with the club's management.
