A 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como has left United without a win in seven games in all competitions.
Former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has been sounded out as a possible replacement for Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, talkSPORT understands. The talk follows a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Serie A side Como on Wednesday, which left United without a win in seven games in all competitions.
Nico Paz scored twice, with Anastasios Douvikas and Jacobo Ramón also on target for Cesc Fabregas' side. Captain Bruno Fernandes then questioned the tactics. Asked whether Carrick had got them wrong, he said: "That's on the manager and staff to see, not me."
Carrick called the performance "unacceptable" and told reporters that Fernandes' comments were not accurate. He also took aim at his players for "not running": "And there's a little bit on whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don't run, and you don't run forward, and you don't run back, you ain't going to win."
Carrick was given the job on a permanent basis in May and signed a fresh two-year contract in the summer. He addressed travelling supporters in the rain at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, apologising for the performance. Carrick also insisted what mattered to him:
"It's not about playing for me, it's about playing for this football club."
Reports say the club's own analysts have pointed to a serious shortfall in pressing and intensity under the management of Carrick and assistant Steve Holland.
Nagelsmann, 39, left his Germany job in July after a World Cup campaign that ended in a round of 32 defeat to Paraguay, and he is without a club. According to The Telegraph, he has emerged as the leading candidate. talkSPORT understands he has admirers within the club's hierarchy and is thought to be open to the role. Goal reports that he previously worked with the club's director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, at RB Leipzig.
Not everyone is convinced. talkSPORT's chief football correspondent Alex Crook, speaking on the latest episode of Inside Devils, said: "You sack another manager, you bring in someone like Nagelsmann, who didn’t cover himself in glory as the Germany boss and he’s also quite a combustible character." He said there was no guarantee of more than a short-term impact, because players tend to revert once a new manager arrives.
Reports do not agree on the front-runner. Alan Nixon, a journalist who reports on Patreon, claims former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is now the favourite, and that Nagelsmann, Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler and Antonio Conte make up a four-man shortlist. Howe is understood to be a free agent and would not cost United anything in compensation, the Guardian notes.
Hurzeler has admirers at Old Trafford, but he recently signed a new long-term contract with Brighton, who are unfazed by the speculation. Brighton are third after scoring 23 goals in seven games. Conte, who left Napoli in June, has representatives who have told United they would be keen, although talkSPORT understands the club is yet to express interest in him.
talkSPORT's sources say Carrick is due to take charge of the Bournemouth match at Old Trafford on Sunday. Marco Rose's side won their first league game of the season last weekend, and United have not beaten them in over three years. The match is on Sunday, 25 October, at 15:00.
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