Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick are locked in a two-way fight to become Manchester United’s interim head coach until the end of the season.
Daily Mail Sport understands that Solskjaer and Carrick spoke to chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox on Tuesday, but the club won’t make a final decision until they have met both men in person.
Although Darren Fletcher, who will be caretaker boss for Wednesday night’s game at Burnley, still has an outside chance of landing the interim job, Ruud van Nistelrooy has drifted out of contention.
Solskjaer emerged as a leading contender on Tuesday as he bids to make an emotional return to Old Trafford. A club legend as a player, his success as a temporary replacement for Jose Mourinho in December 2018 led to him staying in charge for almost three years.
Ironically, Carrick stepped in as caretaker for three games when Solskjaer was sacked in November 2021.
The 52-year-old Norwegian, who has been out of work since leaving Besiktas in August, was pictured shopping near his home in Cheshire on Tuesday.
Carrick is available after he was sacked from his first managerial job at Middlesbrough in June. It’s understood that United are giving the 44-year-old former England midfielder serious consideration in what has now become a two-horse race.
All four candidates played under Sir Alex Ferguson who returned to Carrington on Tuesday to have coffee with Berrada and Wilcox at the training ground a week after his 84th birthday.
Although Van Nistelrooy – who was caretaker for four games when United axed Erik ten Hag in October 2024 – is out of the running, Fletcher will hope to stake his claim for the job on Wednesday night when he will be in the dugout at Turf Moor.
The 41-year-old Scot admitted that taking charge of United is ‘beyond his wildest dreams’, but said he will leave any talks over his long-term future with Wilcox until after the game.
‘I’ve had a conversation and the focus was on this game,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a game to prepare for, a training session to organise, and I’ve been speaking to the players. The focus has been on the Burnley match and we’ll speak after the game.’
Fletcher will be assisted by Under-21s coaches Travis Binnion and Alan Wright, as well as Jonny Evans who has returned to the club after leaving his post as loan manager in December.
Fletcher was reluctant to say if he would ditch Amorim’s much-maligned back-three system, or pick his twin boys Jack and Tyler who have been in the squad in recent games.
‘I would be disclosing team information and I’m not doing going to do that,’ said Fletcher who will have Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and possibly Kobbie Mainoo available again after injury.
Fletcher revealed that he phoned Ferguson to get his ‘blessing’ before accepting the role of caretaker – but hasn’t been able to reach Amorim.
He added: ‘I don’t like to make any major decisions or things without speaking to Sir Alex, and that’s something I’ve done since I’ve been at the club, and since I’ve left the club, and everything I do.
‘I’ve got a really good relationship with Sir Alex, so he’s probably the first person on the phone actually. I wanted to speak to him first, and ultimately to get his blessing to be perfectly honest with you.
‘I think he deserves that respect. I wanted to run it by him to find out what he thought. He was supportive of it, and he echoed my thoughts.’
Fletcher also tried to contact Amorim after the Portuguese coach was axed on Monday morning, but without success.
‘I’ve reached out to him,’ he added. ‘I’ve not managed to make contact yet, but that’s understandable. He’s obviously got a lot on in his mind, and I’ve been really busy.
‘I’d love to because I had a good relationship with Ruben. He was great with me and ultimately he’s the manager who gave my son (Jack) his debut as well. So as a father I’ve got a lot to thank him for.
‘It’s an amazing honour to be able to lead a Manchester United team. Not in the circumstances I expected – that’s doesn’t sit easy with me – but I’ve got a job to do, and I’ll do it with honour and pride.’
