Michael Carrick is close to being appointed Manchester United head coach on a permanent basis, with a two-year contract and the option of a further 12 months now on the table. The deal could be concluded before United face Nottingham Forest on Sunday lunchtime, turning a period of interim calm into a long-term decision at the club.
Carrick inherited United when they were sixth after Ruben Amorim was sacked, and he has pushed them to third with two games remaining. The turnaround has been built on 10 wins in 15 Premier League matches in interim charge, a run that also secured a return to the Champions League and strengthened his case inside the club. On Friday, Carrick said his future would become clear “pretty soon”, and that line now appears to have been a direct warning that a decision was imminent.
The timing matters because United are heading into a busy summer and need clarity on the person shaping it. Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox both want Carrick to stay on, reflecting how strongly the club has responded to his spell in charge. Carrick is also due to address supporters after Sunday’s match regardless of whether the contract has been signed, a sign that the club expects the end of the season to carry a final message from the man who steadied it.
Carrick framed his position on Friday in the plainest way possible, saying there was little more to add with two matches left. He also described the club as “unique” and “special”, and said he was “immensely proud” to have returned as a supporter and former player to help move it forward. That pride has been matched by results on the pitch, where United have recovered after Amorim’s exit and put themselves back among Europe’s elite.
He also made clear how much the support has meant during the last four months, saying the connection with the fans had helped the players feel the momentum around them. In that sense, the coming announcement is not only about a contract. It is about whether United choose to turn an emergency rescue into the start of a longer project, after a run that has changed the mood around Old Trafford.
There is still football to play before the paperwork is finished. Carrick will take United into Nottingham Forest on Sunday with the club still six points above Liverpool, and with the possibility of a formal agreement arriving before kick-off. If it does, the match will become the point where an interim job stops being temporary and starts looking like the next chapter.
The squad news around him also underlines how the season is ending with some pieces falling back into place. Casemiro has recovered from the injury that ruled him out at Sunderland and can now take his Old Trafford farewell, while Matthijs de Ligt has undergone back surgery after a problem that has kept him out since November. De Ligt is due back early next season, which means the next manager, or the same one on a longer deal, will inherit a healthier squad than the one Carrick first found four months ago.
For United, that makes the next move simple even if the road to it has not been. The results have bought Carrick time. The Champions League return has bought him authority. Now the club appears ready to buy the one thing interim football can never really provide: certainty.
