Man Utd close to agreeing Carrick return as caretaker

Michael Carrick is close to agreeing a deal to return to Manchester United as caretaker head coach for the rest of the season.

Talks have progressed and the former United and England midfielder, 44, is set to be in charge for Saturday's derby against Manchester City (12:30 GMT).

Club chiefs are hoping to have an appointment in place for when players return to training on Wednesday.

Carrick previously had a three-game stint as United's temporary boss following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal in 2021.

He won two and drew one of those matches but left after Ralf Rangnick's arrival as interim manager.

Carrick is known to have significant backing from within the United squad and the Ineos hierarchy that run football affairs at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer held face-to-face discussions with the club on Saturday about a return.

United sacked Ruben Amorim as manager after 14 months in the job on 5 January.

Darren Fletcher, a former United and Scotland midfielder, was initially handed temporary responsibility for first-team affairs following Amorim's departure.

United suffered an FA Cup third-round defeat at the hands of Brighton on Sunday in what looks set to be Fletcher's second and final game in charge. He led the side to a draw at struggling Burnley in the Premier League last Wednesday.

Former England midfielder Carrick played 464 games in all competitions for United between 2006 and 2018, having been signed from Tottenham by Sir Alex Ferguson.

He has been out of work since he was sacked by Championship club Middlesbrough last June after two and a half years in charge.

Carrick guided Boro to the Championship play-offs in the 2022-23 campaign, only for them to lose to Coventry in the semi-finals.

His side then narrowly missed out on the top six in successive campaigns, resulting in Carrick losing his job.

Wallsend-born Carrick does not boast the same managerial experience as Solskjaer, given he has had only one permanent role with Middlesbrough.

Following his retirement from a glittering playing career at Old Trafford, Carrick immediately joined Jose Mourinho's coaching staff at United at the end of the 2017-18 season.

After the Portuguese was sacked, he was kept on as a first-team coach throughout Solskjaer's 168-game reign.