Manchester United are set to appoint Michael Carrick as their caretaker manager until the end of the season, with an announcement expected to come later today.

It's time to bring down the curtains on this live page but when that announcement happens, we will bring you all the latest updates and reactions right here on the BBC Sport website and app.

Before we go, here's everything that we reported on the topic today:

• 'Still some minor issues to sort between United and Carrick'
• But the club hope to announce their caretaker manager today
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Man Utd to do well under Carrick

• Steve Holland is set to be named assistant manager
• Jonathan Woodgate, Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion also part of Carrick's staff
• Why Man Utd think they have the right coaching team

• How did Carrick get the Man Utd job?
• What will he bring to Man Utd?

• His highs and lows at Middlesbrough
• Carrick is pictured arriving at Carrington
• Fletcher returns to Man Utd Under-18s
• Carrick's first game in charge against Man City
• Timeline of Man Utd's actions after sacking Ruben Amorim
• And all the latest reaction from our Get Involved contributors here and here

We'll see you soon and take care until we’re back.

Manchester United fans can expect Michael Carrick to stamp a clear identity on the side with an attacking, possession-based style of football, former Reading and Crystal Palace winger Jobi McAnuff told the Football Daily podcast.

"He really likes to dominate the ball, so I would say that is one clear identity he had," said McAnuff, after following Carrick's time as Middlesbrough manager.

"If you watched Middlesbrough under him then you knew exactly what they were going to look like and that is something he will try to transfer to United. He prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation, or a variation of 4-3-3, and I think United do have the players to do that.

"From an attacking point of view, Middlesbrough played really good football so I think he would get United's forward unit going. Attacking players revelled under him and did really well."

McAnuff added: "United fans will see a team with a clear style and identity and one that likes to play attacking and possession based football."

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Chris Adams
BBC Sport journalist

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Much has been written in recent weeks about Manchester United’s so-called DNA and whether or not it matters as the club look to appoint a seventh permanent successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Red Devils have struggled to replicate the trademark attacking flair of Ferguson’s title-winning teams in recent years, but what style of play will new interim boss Michael Carrick employ?

His Middlesbrough team won admirers for their possession-based, attacking football, leading the way in terms of goals scored, shots on target and successful passes among the ever-present Championship clubs during his two-and-a-half year Riverside reign.

But for all those encouraging metrics, a Championship play-off semi-final defeat to Coventry City in 2022-23 was as good as it got for the former England midfielder.

Striker Chuba Akpom’s form in that first season – 29 league goals saw him crowned the division’s top scorer and PFA player of the year – is something Carrick would love to see United new boy Benjamin Sesko emulate.

Successive finishes of 8th and 10th saw Carrick depart Teesside last summer with a win percentage of 46.32%.

It is believed he will play a 4-2-3-1 formation now he is back in the Old Trafford hotseat, where he won two of his three games as caretaker boss in 2021.

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It won't be any easy start to life as Manchester United manager for Michael Carrick.

After a derby against Manchester City to get things under way on Saturday, United will then travel to London to face Premier League leaders Arsenal.

They will then be at Old Trafford for the visits of Fulham and Tottenham before facing a struggling West Ham in Carrick's second game on the road.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Manchester United reporter

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I am told it was always Darren Fletcher's intention to rejoin Manchester United's Under-18 set-up.

The former United and Scotland midfielder feels he is developing his own coaching experience leading that team.

United are currently second in the northern section of the Premier League's Under-18 league. They also play Derby in the FA Youth Cup at Old Trafford on 23 January.

One of the key questions that will surely be put to the Manchester United hierarchy once Michael Carrick is confirmed is why wait until the summer to make a permanent appointment?

One of the assumptions being made is that the pool of managers at their disposal could significantly increase in the summer, after the World Cup.

The likes of England boss Thomas Tuchel, who was linked with replacing Erik ten Hag at United before the Dutchman led them to the 2024 FA Cup, is among those managers whose contracts are due to run out in the summer:

• Thomas Tuchel - England
• Julian Nagelsmann - Germany
• Didier Deschamps - France
• Lionel Scaloni - Argentina
• Roberto Martinez - Portugal
• Mauricio Pochettino - USA
• Carlo Ancelotti - Brazil
• Oliver Glasner - Crystal Palace
• Andoni Iraola - Bournemouth
• Marco Silva - Fulham

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Jonathan Woodgate is set to be part of Michael Carrick's coaching staff at Manchester United, having also worked with him at Middlesbrough.

And he will be greeted by another familiar face at Old Trafford - the club's sporting director Jason Wilcox.

Woodgate and Wilcox played together at Leeds United - including when the club reached the Uefa Cup semi-finals in the 1999-2000 season.

Former centre-back Woodgate also played for Newcastle, Real Madrid, Middlesbrough, Tottenham and Stoke City and was capped eight times by England.

He began his coaching career at Boro and was part of the set-up under Tony Pulis before being named their manager in 2019.

Woodgate was replaced by Neil Warnock after a season in charge and had to wait until 2021 for his next senior job with Bournemouth, leading them into the Championship play-offs where they lost 3-2 Brentford in the semi-finals.

He then made another return to Middlesbrough in 2022, as a first-team coach under Carrick, and left the club in June 2025 following Carrick's sacking.

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Andy Mitten
Editor of United We Stand on BBC Radio 5 Live

There's a Groundhog Day feeling of 'we have been here'. There's a real frustration amongst United fans.

United need to reach European football for next season - that is the aim.

That is one of the reasons why Ruben Amorim lost his job.

Manchester United

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Ruben Amorim was Manchester United's 10th manager since Sir Alex Ferguson departed the club in 2013.

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

Let us take a look at all United bosses after Sir Alex's retirement and their win percentages at the club in all competitions:

• Ruben Amorim - 38.1%
• Ruud van Nistelrooy - 75%
• Erik ten Hag - 54.7%
• Ralf Rangnick - 37.9%
• Michael Carrick - 66.7%
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 54.2%
• Jose Mourinho - 58.3%
• Louis van Gaal - 52.4%
• Ryan Giggs - 50%
• David Moyes - 52.9%

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Manchester United reporter

In a very difficult situation, Manchester United feel they have emerged with the right coaching blend to take them through to the end of the season.

• Steve Holland is the big name – and the surprise. His vast experience, most recently with England, will provide a cool head and knowledge and expertise of operating in a vast goldfish bowl, when everyone has an opinion on the work you are doing.
• Jonny Evans has minimal coaching experience but until last summer, had been part of the United dressing room for two years. He knows Carrick very well but more to the point, knows virtually all the players in the dressing room.
• Travis Binnion has huge experience within United. He knows the players who have come through United’s academy – Kobbie Mainoo to start with, but Shea Lacey, Jack Fletcher and beyond. He is also very highly rated as a coach in his own right.
• Jonathan Woodgate worked with Carrick at Middlesbrough, where they got on very well. He has the added advantage of being able to speak Spanish, which will be a benefit in a dressing room full of internationals. His experience at Real Madrid means, like Holland, he understands the demands created by having to work under intense scrutiny.

Manchester United are closing in on appointing Michael Carrick as their caretaker manager until the end of the season.

And here's everything that we have covered so far:

• 'Still some minor issues to sort between United and Carrick'
• But the club hope to announce their caretaker manager today
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Man Utd to do well under Carrick

• Steve Holland is set to be named assistant manager
• Jonathan Woodgate, Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion also part of Carrick's coaching staff

• How did Carrick get the Man Utd job?
• His highs and lows at Middlesbrough
• Carrick is pictured arriving at Carrington
• Carrick's first game in charge against Man City
• Timeline of Man Utd's actions after sacking Ruben Amorim
• And all the latest reaction from our Get Involved contributors here and here

We have still got plenty more to bring to you, so do not go anywhere.

Image source, PA Media

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

When Michael Carrick was appointed Middlesbrough manager in October 2022, he resurrected a club flirting with relegation from the Championship and did so by delivering exciting, winning, possession-based football.

After losing his first game against Preston, Boro won 16 out of their next 22 league matches.

When they beat Preston in the return game at the Riverside on 18 March, they were three points off automatic promotion and a return to the Premier League after a six-year absence was on the cards.

But Boro's form deserted them at the wrong moment. They won two out of their last eight games, missed out on automatic promotion by 16 points and were beaten by Coventry in the play-off semi-finals.

It never got better than that for Carrick at Boro, even though he lasted two more seasons.

The first of those never recovered from a rotten start, when they collected two points from their opening seven games. The second lacked consistency and five straight defeats from January into February ensured there was no late run to the play-offs.

He was eventually sacked as manager on 4 June, 2025, after a 10th-placed finish.

On the plus side, there was a run to the EFL Cup semi-final in 23-24, where Boro were eventually beaten by Chelsea.

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Andy Mitten
Editor of United We Stand on BBC Radio 5 Live

Michael Carrick is very well respected.

I spoke to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a couple of years ago and he predicted one day that his friend Michael Carrick would manage Manchester United, which seemed unusual at the time as Erik ten Hag was settled [as manager].

Ole was one of the two. He spoke to United last Tuesday for the first time - United got in touch with him. He then met them on Saturday in Manchester, and he put over his ideas, his proposals and his plans for how United would play football.

But Michael Carrick made a very good impression when he met them on Thursday.

I wouldn't have minded the two of them working together, but I think Manchester United wanted one person to be the manager

Even when Ole met them last week, he spoke well of the other candidates - these are friends of his.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Manchester United reporter

This is not really a surprise given the pair worked together and have stayed in touch but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Michael Carrick to make a success of the Manchester United job.

While Solskjaer spoke to United's hierarchy and made his own pitch for the job, he views the club's success as being the most important thing and believes Carrick will do an excellent job.

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Michael Carrick scored 24 goals in 464 appearances, playing at the heart of United's midfield during 12 years at the club, between 2006 and 2018.

He has retained strong ties with the club since finishing his playing career.

After joining the coaching set-up, he was promoted to work under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the Norwegian's time as manager before stepping up as interim boss in November 2021, filling the gap between Solskjaer's dismissal and the arrival of Ralf Rangnick.

Carrick's three games at the helm included two wins and a draw - one of the victories was a 3-2 success against Arsenal.

More recently, the 44-year-old played for the club in a legends game at Celtic in September.

And, in November, Carrick was at Old Trafford to support the Manchester United Foundation's annual sleepout, which raised more than £30,000 for its community projects.

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So what do you think?

We are running a poll, asking whether hiring Michael Carrick as caretaker manager is the right decision by Manchester United.

Have your say in the poll at the top of this page.

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Michael Carrick is also no stranger to winning silverware.

The England midfielder enjoyed a highly successful playing career, most notably with Manchester United, and also at international level.

Carrick began his career at West Ham, where he won the FA Youth Cup in 1999.

After loan spells at Swindon Town and Birmingham City, he became a first-team regular for the Hammers. though they were relegated and played in the second tier during Carrick's final season there.

He then spent two seasons at Tottenham before joining Manchester United ahead of the 2006-07 season.

Carrick won five Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three League Cups to go with Champions League and Europa League triumphs during a hugely successful stay at Old Trafford.

He also earned 34 caps for England, making the squad for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

From Jose Mourinho to Carlo Ancelotti - Steve Holland has been assistant coach to some of the best managers in the business.

During his eight years at Chelsea, from August 2009 to June 2017, the club won the Premier League twice, one Champions League, one Europa League, one FA Cup and one League Cup.

The managers Holland worked with at Chelsea:

• Jose Mourinho
• Guus Hiddink
• Carlo Ancelotti
• Andre Villas-Boas
• Roberto Di Matteo
• Rafael Benitez
• Antonio Conte.

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