Man Utd: ‘Response’ on appointing elite boss ‘likely to be a no’ after ‘clear frontrunner’ named
According to reports, Manchester United’s hopes of appointing PSG boss Luis Enrique have been dealt a blow as a new update has surfaced.
The Red Devils have been without a permanent manager since sacking Ruben Amorim at the start of this year, though Michael Carrick has done a great job as interim boss.
Carrick is doing his chances of being named United‘s next permanent boss no harm, having won seven of his nine Premier League games in charge.
This superb run of form has dramatically improved Man Utd’s hopes of securing Champions League qualification, and the clamour for INEOS to appoint Carrick permanently is growing and he has been named as the ‘clear frontrunner’.
Man Utd’s initial plan was to appoint a top-level manager after Carrick to oversee a long-term project, and this could still happen as they are linked with several potential candidates.
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Enrique, who is considered one of the best managers in Europe, is among those linked with Man Utd, but journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that PSG may block a move for the Spaniard.
Speaking on the United Stand podcast, Jacobs said: “The contract of Luis Enrique expires summer 2027, not summer 2026, and PSG are prepared to dig in.
“So even if Luis Enrique says I’ve got interest from Manchester United and elsewhere, and he does, to my knowledge, have long-term aspirations to manage in the Premier League but PSG’s response through Luís Campos and Nasser Al-Khelaifi is likely to be no.”
On whether Man Utd are likely to interview managers before the end of this season, Jacobs added: “100% yeah, they’re already speaking to people now.
“I think now we’ve gone from the internal to the external part of the process… In the coming weeks, we should get a bit more clarity.”
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And former Premier League boss Tim Sherwood thinks the lack of an obvious alternative could boost Carrick’s chances of remaining at Man Utd beyond this season.
“But that is the question we need to ask, who is the alternative?” Sherwood said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
“It’s not Thomas Tuchel now.
“Unai Emery, you could put an argument out for him… but who is it? Who is it going to be? Is it Luis Enrique? Probably not. Carlo Ancelotti is one you can’t argue with – but anyone else, why wouldn’t you keep him?”
He added: “I just don’t see anyone else. Unless you’re going to throw an Ancelotti in there but I’m not sure he wants it.”
Sam Allardyce, meanwhile, thinks Carrick has been “lucky” with the hand he’s been dealt at Man Utd.
“He’s a lucky man, Michael Carrick,” Allardyce claimed.
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“You take full advantage of what luck you get in this game when you’re in the right place at the right time.”
He added: “They needed someone who knew Manchester United. He knew Man United, knew the club.”
On bringing in Steve Holland, he said: “So they get Steve Holland which I think is a master stroke because of Steve Holland’s experience as a coach at Chelsea for years and then with England. It’s obviously been a pretty good combination.”
