Former United coach names Michael Carrick 'obvious' choice to replace Ruben Amorim

Rene Meulensteen, a former Manchester United first-team coach, told betting firm BetVictor that Michael Carrick would be the "obvious option" if the club decided to sack manager Ruben Amorim, adding that a pragmatic appointment could restore the Red Devils to their best.

Meulensteen said Carrick "knows the club" and could impose a structure that players would buy into, arguing that success would come from common sense rather than what he described as magic. The comments come amid a tense start to the Premier League season for United, who sit 14th after four games — their worst opening in 33 years — and suffered a Carabao Cup upset at League Two side Grimsby Town.

Amorim remains under pressure after trying to implement a 3-4-3 system that Meulensteen and others have criticised as ill-suited to United's squad. The club has no immediate plans to relieve Amorim of his duties, and several factors make a change complicated: the Portuguese coach's recent domestic success with Sporting Lisbon, a large summer outlay on new players, and the financial cost of terminating a manager inside the first 12 months of his contract.

Meulensteen, who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2007 and 2013, pointed to Carrick's profile at Old Trafford and his managerial record since retiring as a player. Carrick won 18 trophies across 12 years as a United player, captained the side, and served as caretaker manager in 2021, winning two of three matches. He subsequently managed Middlesbrough, taking them to the Championship play-offs and posting two other top-10 finishes before his dismissal in the summer.

"He's still got some good inside information. He obviously knows the club. He knows what's expected," Meulensteen said, adding that United's squad contains quality players who could perform if deployed in a system that suits them. "I'm sure that if they would play in a system that suits them, they really play at the best. I think you could see a fantastic Manchester United. Maybe Michael could well be the guy."

Carrick's recent television work drew attention after he appeared on Amazon Prime's coverage for Tottenham's Champions League match against Villarreal, where punditry praise among supporters led to renewed calls on social media for him to be considered for the role.

Critics of appointing former players as managers note the approach carries risks; the club's more recent managerial succession — which included Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — has produced mixed results and set high expectations for anyone stepping into the Old Trafford job. Solskjaer's tenure, in particular, remains a contested example of the former-player pathway.

United's decision-making will be influenced by Amorim's previous achievements: he won two league titles with Sporting Lisbon after a long title drought for the club, and the board has backed his transfer strategy with heavy investment over the summer, reported to be around £236 million. Those expenditures, combined with the contractual and reputational costs of an early dismissal, mean the club may be inclined to give Amorim more time to implement his ideas.

For now, Meulensteen's public endorsement of Carrick adds to a growing chorus of voices within the game and among supporters debating the best way forward at Old Trafford. Any managerial change would be carefully weighed by the club's hierarchy, which must balance immediate results with longer-term strategy amid a challenging start to the season.