Rumours surrounding Danks: Carrick’s future to be decided today – in Monaco

Manchester United are apparently set to decide on manager Michael Carrick’s future this Wednesday. The leading candidate to succeed him is Mauricio Pochettino – but there is also said to be a scenario involving Bayern Munich assistant manager Aaron Danks.

It is somehow fitting for the situation at Manchester United that rain is forecast for Monaco today. A decision on Michael Carrick’s professional future is due to be made this Wednesday in the luxurious microstate. And there appears to be a clear trend: Manchester United are – once again – facing a change of manager in the middle of the season.

As reported by the BBC, amongst others, managing director Omar Berrada, sporting director Jason Wilcox and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe are meeting in Monaco, where the latter resides. According to the report, these meetings take place there on a regular basis, but this time there is a clear focus on the managerial issue.

Apparently, Berrada and Wilcox are set to arrive with the recommendation that Carrick be relieved of his duties. The former midfielder took charge of the Red Devils in January and, following an outstanding run of form, had led them to third place. However, the record champions started the new season with just one win from ten matches, leaving them in an unacceptable 18th place in the table.

By the time of the humiliating 0–3 home defeat to Bournemouth on 25 October, at the very latest, Carrick’s fate seemed to be sealed. Yet, surprisingly, the board stood by him, even after the subsequent 0–2 loss to Chelsea FC. Most recently, United staged a comeback against AS Roma in the Champions League – winning 3–2 after trailing 0–2 – and against Aston Villa – drawing 4–4 after trailing 2–4. Too late?

United’s club management is known for sticking with managers for longer than the public expects. This was also the case with Carrick’s predecessors, Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag. In that respect, it comes as no surprise that a second scenario is evidently being seriously discussed: that Carrick will not be relieved of his duties, but will instead be assigned a new assistant manager.

Danks has previously served as Carrick’s assistant manager

According to Talksport and the BBC, the Red Devils are even considering a move to poach Aaron Danks. The 43-year-old Englishman has been Vincent Kompany’s assistant at FC Bayern since the summer of 2024 and most recently stood in brilliantly for the Belgian when he was sidelined following his collapse. This has not gone unnoticed in England either.

Danks had previously served as Carrick’s assistant manager from December 2022 to the summer of 2024 at second-tier side Middlesbrough FC; before that, he had assisted Steven Gerrard, Dean Smith and, briefly, Unai Emery at Aston Villa – and had even taken his place on the touchline as an interim manager in the Premier League himself.

The leading candidate to succeed Carrick is Pochettino

Nevertheless, it is considered far more likely that Man United will soon announce the departure of Carrick, who recently vehemently rejected calls for his resignation. US national team manager Mauricio Pochettino is the leading candidate to succeed him; according to The Athletic, a deal is already being negotiated in the event that Carrick has to leave.

It remains to be seen how quickly his departure would take place following Wednesday’s meeting in Monaco: in this scenario, the manager is to be informed in person – and for that to happen, Berrada and Wilcox must first return to Manchester. The sun is shining there this Wednesday.