Most ‘obvious’ candidate to replace Ruben Amorim at Man Utd named; he’d be ‘popular’ choice among fans

With pressure on Ruben Amorim mounting, the most ‘obvious’ candidate to replace the beleaguered Manchester United manager has been named and he’s an icon of the club.

We’re barely a month into the new season and Amorim’s position as manager of Man Utd is already under the microscope. Despite spending over £200m on new recruits and buying an entirely new forward line, the Red Devils have started the campaign in dismal fashion.

The 3-0 thumping at the hands of Manchester City ensured United still only have one win in the Premier League. The less said about United’s historic exit to fourth tier Grimsby Town in the League Cup, the better.

The vast bulk of sources and outlets all concur Amorim is safe for now. However, the Mirror recently suggested Amorim  ‘effectively has three games to save his job’, while the Mail pointed to November 1 as the date when the axe could fall.

Man Utd would be on the hook for a whopping £12m compensation package if firing Amorim prior to his one-year anniversary at the club. Amorim signed his Man Utd contract on November 1 of 2024, hence he may be safe until November 1 of 2025.

In any case, if Amorim were sacked in the coming weeks and months, former Man Utd coach, Rene Meulensteen, believes there’s one “obvious” candidate to take the reins.

In quotes carried by the Mirror, Meulensteen – who served as Man Utd’s first-team coach under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2007-13 – said: “Michael Carrick might be the obvious option if Ruben Amorim is to go.

“Obviously Michael Carrick still knows quite a few players that were there when he was there.

“So he’s still got some good inside information. He obviously knows the club. He knows what’s expected from the club.”

Meulensteen added: “But the key is that you need to have a guy that obviously has got a clear idea but puts some kind of a structure in place that the players buy into and that you get a spark from the players. Because they’re not bad players, there’s plenty of good players there.

“I’m sure that if they would play in a system that suits them, they really play at the best. I think you could see a fantastic Manchester United. Maybe Michael could well be the guy.

“It’s not magic. It’s common sense more than anything, that’s it and Carrick has got plenty of that.”

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Man Utd icon Carrick would be ‘popular’ choice

Carrick, 44, played with distinction for Man Utd between 2006-18 and lifted 18 major trophies during that span. Of those 18 honours, five were Premier Leagues and one was the Champions League.

He was among the classiest yet also among the most underrated midfielders of his generation, though Man Utd fans won’t soon forget his true worth at the time.

Since hanging up his boots Carrick has served as interim manager at Old Trafford on two occasions, as well as serving as one of Jose Mourinho’s assistant managers during the Portuguese’s time in United’s dugout.

Carrick since managed at Middlesbrough and guided the club into the Championship play-offs during his first season in charge. After eighth and tenth-placed finishes in the two subsequent seasons, Carrick left Boro in June.

He’s readily available right now and per a separate update from the Mirror, he’d be a ‘popular’ choice among the Old Trafford faithful.

However, the second report did sound a warning when highlighting the fact Carrick has never managed at Premier League level, never mind at a club the stature of Man Utd.

Furthermore, it was suggested his ability to manage big egos could be a question mark.

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