United executives to urge Ratcliffe in Monaco to dismiss Michael Carrick

Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada are expected to meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Tuesday and recommend that Michael Carrick be sacked, a move intended to settle the Manchester United head coach’s fate. The meeting will address the club’s managerial situation and the sporting policy overseen by Ratcliffe.

Wilcox, Manchester United’s director of football, and Omar Berrada, the club’s chief executive, have reached the conclusion that the 45-year-old Carrick should be removed after analysing his and the team’s performance. They are poised to tell Ratcliffe, who controls sporting policy, that a new manager is needed, with Mauricio Pochettino emerging as a strong candidate. Pochettino, the USA head coach, is open to the position and is believed to have a break clause that would require United to pay about £7m in compensation to the US Soccer Federation; he is contracted until the 2030 World Cup. Eddie Howe also remains on Wilcox’s radar.

Carrick is due to take training on Tuesday while United sit in the Premier League relegation zone and 17th in the Champions League standings, having recorded three victories in 15 games in all competitions. Those results form the backdrop to the executive review of his tenure.

Carrick narrowly avoided dismissal after a 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth on 25 October, which prompted Wilcox and Berrada to meet at the training ground the following day to discuss his position. After that meeting Carrick was given three matches, until the international break, to prove whether he and the players could reverse a dismal start to the season.

A defeat, a win and a draw in those matches and the displays in each, compounded with the overall run of form, have moved Wilcox and Berrada to a position where they are minded to remove Carrick. There is a growing expectation within the club that he will lose his job.

United were approached for comment.