United CL winner in line for sensational return to PL management – The Athletic

Former Manchester United caretaker manager Michael Carrick could be in line for a return to the Premier League. Time at Old Trafford Carrick moved from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006 to Old Trafford and spent 12 seasons at the club. The Englishman played 464 times for United and scored 24 goals during that time. After retiring in the 2017-2018 season, he joined the coaching team under Jose Mourinho. He stayed on in the position when Mourinho was sacked and would finally spend three games as caretaker manager of United when Solskjaer was sacked in late 2021. Middlesbrough Carrick was then given the opportunity to manage Middlesbrough when he was offered the job in 2022. The former England international spent 136 matches in charge until he was finally sacked in June 2025. During that time, he won 63 matches, drew 24 and lost 49 times. Successes including finishing in the playoffs in his first season and making the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. Nonetheless, this run ended in January 2024 when they were crushed 6-2 on aggregate by Chelsea in spite of winning the first leg 1-0. Possible Premier League return The Athletic report that, “Wolverhampton Wanderers are considering a shock return for former head coach Gary O’Neil, with Rob Edwards another prominent candidate and Michael Carrick also in the frame to replace Vitor Pereira.” The report adds that, “former Middlesbrough boss Carrick is highly regarded too, and — like O’Neil — is out of work at present.” Former Wolves head coach Pereira was sacked after the 3-0 defeat to Fulham, which extended Wolves’ winless start to 10 matches in the Premier League. Michael Carrick manager stats TeamFromToGamesWinsDrawsLosses Man United21 November 20212 December 20213210 Middlesbrough24 October 20224 June 2025136632449 Featured image George Wood via Getty Images – The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.