Category: football

🚨 UPDATE, May 2026: Michael Carrick was appointed Manchester United’s permanent manager on 22 May 2026, on a two-year contract until June 2028. He had joined as interim in January after Amorim’s sacking and secured Champions League qualification with 11 wins in 15 Premier League games. Read on for the full story of Amorim’s departure, the odds market that followed and how Carrick took the job.

Manchester United parted company with Ruben Amorim on 5 January 2026 after just 14 months in charge, following a post-match press conference after a 1-1 draw at Leeds United in which Amorim publicly criticised the club’s director of football and scouting department. The comments, widely reported as the final straw for the United hierarchy, ended a turbulent tenure that had promised far more than it ultimately delivered.

Amorim arrived at Old Trafford in November 2024, paid for with a £17 million release clause from Sporting Lisbon and heralded as one of European football’s most exciting young coaches. He had won two Primeira Liga titles with Sporting and reached the Champions League knockout stages, and United’s board believed his 3-4-2-1 system could provide the structural backbone the club had lacked for years. The reality was more difficult. Amorim took charge of 63 matches, winning 24, drawing 18 and losing 21, a win percentage of 38.1 per cent that represented the lowest recorded by a permanent United manager in the modern era. The 2024-25 season had ended with United finishing 15th in the Premier League, their lowest top-flight points total since the 1973-74 relegation campaign, though Amorim did lead them to the Europa League final in Bilbao, where they lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.

Why Amorim Was Sacked

The breaking point came at Elland Road on 4 January 2026. After United drew 1-1 with Leeds, leaving them sixth in the Premier League with one win in their last five league games, Amorim used his press conference to publicly distance himself from the club’s transfer strategy and criticise the scouting department for failing to deliver the January signings he had requested. He had reportedly grown frustrated throughout his tenure by what he perceived as a lack of backing in the transfer market, particularly given the significant summer outlay on Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko that had not translated into consistent results on the pitch. The club had spent more than £200 million building a squad around his system, but Amorim’s inability to make it work consistently had been undermining confidence in him throughout the autumn.

A club statement issued on 5 January confirmed the parting of ways, citing United’s sixth-place position and the board’s belief that a change gave the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish. Amorim received a settlement reported at around £9.25 million covering the remainder of his contract to June 2027.

Amorim’s Full Record at Manchester United

Next Man United Manager Odds (January 2026)

Odds correct at time of original publication, January 2026. Markets shifted significantly as the interim appointment became clear.

Darren Fletcher’s Brief Interim Spell

In the immediate aftermath of Amorim’s sacking, United turned to Darren Fletcher, then serving as the club’s under-18s coach, to take caretaker charge while they assessed the situation. Fletcher, who had consulted Sir Alex Ferguson before accepting the role and described it as his duty as a club employee, drew 2-2 at Burnley in his first match. He oversaw a 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Brighton before the club moved to confirm a longer-term interim arrangement, with Fletcher himself acknowledging after the Brighton loss that he had zero indications as to when his time in the dugout would end.

Michael Carrick Takes Interim Charge

United held talks with both Michael Carrick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer about the interim role, with Solskjaer’s negotiations reportedly complicated by disagreements over his backroom staff. Carrick was confirmed as interim manager on 13 January 2026, taking charge with United sixth in the Premier League and in need of immediate stabilisation. The 45-year-old had previous managerial experience at Middlesbrough in the Championship before being sacked in the summer of 2025, and his understanding of United’s culture from his time as a player between 2006 and 2018 was seen as an important asset during a period of uncertainty.

Carrick’s early impact was immediate and striking. He restored Kobbie Mainoo to a central role, reverted to a traditional back four from Amorim’s three-at-the-back system, introduced shorter and more intense training sessions and made a point of addressing players after games, something Amorim had reportedly avoided. United won four of his first five matches and the atmosphere at Old Trafford shifted perceptibly within weeks of his arrival.

Carrick Secures Champions League Football

Over his five-month interim tenure, Carrick oversaw 11 wins from 15 Premier League matches, a run that included victories over Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Brentford, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Bruno Fernandes won the FWA Men’s Footballer of the Year award during the run-in, and Kobbie Mainoo’s form was so impressive that he was named in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad. The Champions League qualification United secured under Carrick was described by ESPN as an outcome that can only be deemed a success after the chaos and underperformance of the Amorim era.

The permanent appointment decision was not immediate. Oliver Glasner, who left Crystal Palace in April 2026, moved into favouritism at 7/4 at various points during the spring as doubts were raised about whether United would give the job to an interim rather than pursue a bigger name. Julian Nagelsmann was also linked at 12/1. Ultimately, after William Hill cut Carrick to 1/5 following the 3-2 win over Liverpool, United confirmed him as permanent manager on 22 May 2026, signing a two-year deal to June 2028.

Carrick’s Appointment in Context

Carrick became the sixth permanent manager United had appointed since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, following David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Amorim. Each of his predecessors had been unable to return the club to consistent title contention, and the appointment was greeted with a mixture of cautious optimism and the kind of scrutiny that comes with managing the most examined job in English football.

Matheus Cunha said in the weeks before the announcement that Carrick enjoyed immense trust within the dressing room and that his coaching style felt different from anything the squad had experienced in recent years. Maguire described him as excellent with the players and praised his communication. Whether that trust and those results translate into long-term success remains the central question of United’s next chapter.

For more next manager odds coverage, see our Next Tottenham Manager Odds, Next Chelsea Manager Odds and Next Liverpool Manager Odds pieces.

All odds correct at time of original publication, January 2026. Please gamble responsibly. For help with problem gambling visit GambleAware.org. 18+.

🕒 Last Updated: 2 January 2026 – Odds and market information correct at time of last update. Please check with your bookmaker for current prices.

⚽ Result: Liam Rosenior was appointed Chelsea head coach on 6 January 2026 on a six-and-a-half-year deal, vindicating his 1/4 market position. However, Rosenior was then sacked in April 2026 after just three months in charge, following five consecutive Premier League defeats without scoring. Xabi Alonso was subsequently appointed as his successor ahead of the 2026/27 season.

Chelsea Begin Search for New Manager After Maresca Exit

Chelsea are looking for a new head coach after parting ways with Enzo Maresca, with bookmakers already pointing to a clear frontrunner to take the job at Stamford Bridge. Maresca’s departure brings to an end a troubled stint in west London, with reports suggesting his relationship with the club’s hierarchy had been deteriorating for some time. The breakdown came over the summer when Chelsea refused to sanction defensive signings in the wake of a serious injury to Levi Colwill, a decision that left the Italian deeply unhappy. He publicly described his “worst 48 hours” at the club, comments widely read as a sign the working relationship had broken down.

While some supporters sympathised with his frustrations over the club’s transfer activity, results ultimately sealed his fate. Chelsea won just once in seven Premier League matches, and the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge grew toxic during the recent defeat to Bournemouth, when Maresca was met with chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” from sections of the crowd after substituting Cole Palmer.

Liam Rosenior quickly emerged as the bookmakers’ favourite at 1/4 to step in. The former Hull City manager impressed at Strasbourg, steering the Ligue 1 club to a seventh-place finish in his first season and putting them in a strong position in the UEFA Conference League. His connection to the BlueCo ownership group, which controls both Strasbourg and Chelsea, made any potential move considerably smoother from a business perspective.

Xavi Hernandez was another option being discussed, particularly if Chelsea decided they wanted a more high-profile name in the dugout. The former Barcelona head coach had been without a club since leaving the Nou Camp in May 2024. Andoni Iraola and Oliver Glasner were also being monitored. Glasner in particular also featured in the next Tottenham manager market, with several clubs eyeing the same candidates simultaneously.

Cesc Fabregas, who enjoyed a successful playing career at Chelsea, was also expected to feature on the shortlist. The Como head coach guided the newly promoted side to a tenth-place finish in Serie A last season and had them pushing for a European spot, results that significantly raised his profile as a managerial prospect.

Chelsea faced a decision on which direction to take. Whether they opted for a familiar face from within their ownership network, a proven Premier League operator, or a marquee appointment, the pressure was on the club’s hierarchy to get it right. Manchester United and Tottenham were simultaneously searching for permanent appointments, meaning the pool of available managers was being competed for across multiple clubs.