Manchester United told to overlook Michael Carrick for Champions League winning manager
Luis Enrique is the standout candidate for the permanent role at Manchester United – even if Michael Carrick continues to get everything right.
That is the view of talkSPORT’s Angelina Kelly, who has called the Paris Saint-Germain boss the ‘most proven’ man for the job at Old Trafford, despite Carrick‘s impressive start as interim head coach.
Since taking the reins on a temporary basis in January, Carrick has won five of his six games in charge, helping the Red Devils climb to fourth in the Premier League.
The fine run of form has included back-to-back wins over title challengers Manchester City and Arsenal.
United’s resurgence has led to many calling for the Englishman to remain in the role beyond the end of the season.
And while Carrick would certainly prove a popular appointment, talkSPORT presenter and diehard fan Kelly has insisted the club would be unwise not to consider Enrique the standout candidate.
With the Spaniard out of contract at PSG next summer, this has sparked speculation that he could become a target for United.
Enrique guided the Parisians to a historic treble last season, including Champions League glory – the second three-trophy haul of his career after achieving the same with Barcelona in 2015.
Devil’s advocate
Speaking on talkSPORT’s Inside Devils YouTube show, Kelly discussed the leading names who could rival Carrick’s claim for a permanent appointment in the summer.
Highlighting Enrique’s impressive CV, she said: “When you look at the options, there aren’t that many.
“Luis Enrique is the name that stands out for me when we’re putting our serious caps on here.
“Does he want to leave Paris Saint-Germain? I don’t even know.
“But he’s somebody who has taken that PSG side that was full of egos and whatnot, brought in younger players, built a really impressive team and has led them to the Holy Grail of getting them that Champions League that they were desperate for.
“He’s the most proven name out there.”
Despite naming Enrique as the most qualified man for the job, Kelly was quick to point out that Carrick is still the likely candidate to take over, especially after Thomas Tuchel committed his long-term future to England.
Urging caution after Carrick’s blistering start as interim boss, she continued: “I think it’s far too early to say Michael Carrick 100 per cent should have the job.
“Technically on paper he’s the lead candidate, especially with the Tuchel situation.
“When you think about it logically – a manager that’s been at the World Cup, if it’s a good manager, you’d imagine that they’ll be there for quite a while, well into July.
“Then how do you work that out? How are they working out with transfers? Are they in those kinds of conversations? What’s going on with pre-season? How are they going to embed themselves into the club so quickly?
“The more you look at it, Michael Carrick sometimes, almost like a Real Madrid situation in that they sometimes will lean on those ex-players as they are at the moment, as they have done with [Zinedine] Zidane.
“It does sound a little bit cringe sometimes saying it has to be somebody who gets Man United etc. But he is kind of proving the point.
“We’ve seen at a club like Real Madrid, for example, it’s worked as well, that sometimes having that history with the club, it does work.”
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Crook: Experience isn’t everything
While Kelly urged United to opt for proven experience in Enrique, another of the Inside Devils panel had the exact opposite view.
talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook insisted that Carrick should not judged for having no prior Premier League experience, citing appointments at rival clubs in recent years.
He said: “If you look around the Premier League table – Arsenal, I think are going to win their first title in more than 20 years with Michael Arteta, someone who had no frontline managerial experience when he came in.
“You’ve got Chelsea who have gone for Liam Rosenior, a complete novice when it comes to the Premier League, I think he’s done really well.
“We didn’t know a lot about Arne Slot before he came in and won the title at Liverpool. If you weren’t a footballing hipster, you weren’t really too aware of his career.
“Look at Keith Andrews, a much lesser level, obviously, but what he’s done at Brentford. There does seem to be a sea change in the way that clubs are recruiting managers.
“Tuchel would have been my first choice. I make no bones about that, but he’s off the table now that he’s committed to England.”
Carrick ‘far better’ than Solskjaer
While Crook refused to advocate for Carrick’s appointment just yet, he insisted the Englishman has already shown more managerial promise than ex-United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Solskjaer served as manager between 2018 and 2021, having been promoted to the role after an impressive initial spell in interim charge.
Crook said: “I’ve made a vow, I’m not going to promote Michael Carrick for this job full-time until at least two weeks before the end of the season, because we’ve been down this road before and he shouldn’t be judged by the same standards as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“I think he’s a far better coach and manager than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ever was, but we don’t want to be knee-jerk.
“It’s only six games. A couple of the performances haven’t been that convincing, but we found a way to win against Fulham and again at Everton [on Monday night].
“So, let’s judge this come the end of the season, but I don’t see a standout contender.
“I will go as far as saying, if he keeps winning games, keeps picking up points with the regularity that he is and United finish in the top five, because I think the top five will be enough for Champions League football, then he has put himself in a really strong position.”
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