Latest on Manchester United News: Michael Carrick who was Ole’s assistant during his spell at United has been tipped to oneday takeover as manager at the club following his outsanding prowress at Middlesbrough
According to a reports, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has predicted that his former assistant Michael Carrick will lead Manchester United in the future. The Norwegian, who was fired from his position as manager of United in November 2021, has lauded Carrick’s expertise and interpersonal abilities and thinks he possesses all the talents needed to lead the team at Old Trafford.
After Solskjaer was fired in November 2021, Carrick, a longtime United player, took over as the team’s temporary head coach before leaving when Ralf Rangnick took control. Since then, he has taken over as Middlesbrough’s manager, guiding them to the Championship playoffs and placing them in the running to return to the Premier League despite facing points deduction earlier in the season.
Solskjaer referred to Carrick as “a man of value and principles” who has played alongside some of the finest players in the world and for the top coaches in the world in an interview with The Athletic. He lauded Carrick’s leadership and emotional control and remarked that if he desired it, he could not see him not managing Manchester United.
“Michael is a man of value and principles, a big family man, but his knowledge is also second to none. He’s had Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho as managers, and he’s played with the best players in the world. He’s a winner but he’s still in control of his emotions. I cannot see him not being the Manchester United manager,” Solskjaer said in an interview with The Athletic.
“At United, I’d sometimes see Michael talk to the players. Some of these were ex-team-mates of his which isn’t easy, but he had an authority about him. I am 100 per cent sure that Michael will be the manager of Manchester United if he wants to be.”
Additionally, Solskjaer disclosed that Carrick had been offered the opportunity to lead United for the remainder of the previous campaign but declined it out of devotion to the Norwegian. The two men have a good friendship, and Solskjaer claimed to have become upset while discussing Carrick in a post-club interview.
“I love him as a person, but while he never said anything to me about it, the day I got booted, I went to see him and said: ‘I’m gone, they want you to take over.’ I told him that I wanted him to do it. After ten days, Michael came to me and said: ‘I don’t want to do this.’ We were in it together and we were no longer together,” Solskjaer added.
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“I took that as a compliment because I had the utmost respect for him. If you see the interview I did when I left the club, I got emotional when I started talking about Michael. That’s when I got really emotional. We don’t spend too many hours in our private lives together but it was pure respect for him.”
The success of Solskjaer’s team members after they left United is not limited to Carrick. Ipswich was propelled by Kieran McKenna to the Championship from League One, while Neil Wood led Salford City to the League Two playoffs.
On Sunday, Middlesbrough, led by Carrick, took on Coventry in the first leg of their playoff semi-final where they played a 1-1 draw, seeking to advance to the Premier League. After successive losses to Brighton and West Ham, United, now led by new manager Erik ten Hag, is aiming to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
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