Gary Neville Urges Man United To Make Michael Carrick Decision Amid Ancelotti, Tuchel and Pochettino Claim

BACK Dylan Oakley Jan 15th 2026 Gary Neville has told Man United that they can’t appoint Michael Carrick as the permanent manager, even if he does well.  The Red Devils appointed Carrick to take over for the remainder of the season, to try and land United a spot in the Champions League for next year. Carrick’s first game comes against Manchester City in a huge Manchester derby on Saturday. He hopes to get the better of United’s rivals, but more importantly, get Man United back into Europe, looking at the long-term. Several pundits have claimed that Man United could do the same thing they did with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and appoint Carrick permanently if he does well for the rest of this season. Neville urges Man United not to make Carrick permanent Former Man United full-back Gary Neville has spoken out about the Carrick appointment, and has said he hopes that the Red Devils will keep him as an interim, and not appoint him permanently at the end of the season. He said on the Overlap Podcast: “I hope he [Carrick] does really well. There cannot be any consideration that Michael [Carrick] takes the job beyond this season. For Michael and for the club. “We could be sat here at the end of the season where he’s done unbelievably well, and the fans are up, and they’re in the Champions League places, it could happen, and we could all be getting swayed with it. At the end of the season, there’s Pochettino, Tuchel and Ancelotti.” Neville is saying that with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti likely available in the summer, Man United should prioritise one of them. The former United defender also said that Ancelotti would be his first choice, he is currently managing the Brazil national team. Romano says Tuchel is on the shortlist In terms of concrete news of a new permanent manager, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed there are two names who are ‘guaranteed’ to be on the shortlist in the summer. He said: “Two names guaranteed to be considered by INEOS are Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi. Tuchel is fully focused on England and the World Cup, while De Zerbi is doing an excellent job at Olympique Marseille, but both remain appreciated internally. This will be a long process with more names involved, and nothing is expected to happen quickly.” It is understood that United approached Tuchel in the summer of 2024, when they were considering sacking Erik Ten Hag, following their FA Cup triumph. Click here to see Man United’s latest transfer news.