Next Man Utd Manager: Why Michael Carrick Has Seen Off Andoni Iraola Challenge

The Red Devils are a step closer to finalizing who will lead the team next season.

Andoni Iraola had been considered a possible alternative. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Manchester United are reported to have ruled out approaching Andoni Iraola when it comes to appointing a new permanent manager to replace Ruben Amorim. That decision only further strengthens current interim Michael Carrick’s chance of getting the job.

United have deliberately delayed a decision on who will lead the team next season and beyond, refusing to rush into handing out a permanent contract while matches were ongoing.

But Carrick’s impact since returning to Old Trafford in January, securing Champions League qualification with three games to spare, had made the 44-year-old Englishman the candidate to beat.

Iraola, available this summer after opting to leave Bournemouth, had emerged as the only alternative in the search so far that was being given any credence. But now even the Spaniard has fallen out of the picture, with the Daily Mail reporting he is “no longer under consideration.”

Carrick’s managerial history—his only permanent appointment to date has been in charge of Middlesbrough in the EFL Championship—doesn’t scream elite experience.

But he had 15 prior years at Old Trafford as a player, captain and then assistant coach, and the club hierarchy has been “hugely impressed” by the results he has overseen and the way he has “galvanized” a previously underperforming squad. He was front of the queue even before guaranteeing the return of Champions League soccer, which may have sealed his fate.

According to The Athletic, club officials are set to formally recommend a permanent contract for Carrick in an upcoming meeting with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

---

Why Man Utd Will Not Hire Andoni Iraola

Iraola is more likely to join Crystal Palace. | Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images)

Iraola has worked wonders in three seasons at Bournemouth, potentially leaving the Cherries in the Champions League if results in the next three weeks go in their favor.

His high-tempo style of play is potentially a good fit for the Red Devils on paper. But what perhaps counts against Iraola is a lack of elite-level experience, having forged a reputation as a club builder after also previously overachieving with Rayo Vallecano in Spain. It is not necessarily translatable to a higher level with more pressure and less margin for error, as United found out with David Moyes, as Chelsea found out with Graham Potter, and even with Unai Emery at Arsenal.

Iraola is reportedly a primary target for Crystal Palace to replace Oliver Glasner.

While Carrick has significantly less of a proven record as a manager than Iraola, being exposed to Manchester United’s winning culture for as long as he was counts massively, as demonstrated by the way the same group of players that struggled under Ruben Amorim has now come together.

Cynics argue against that idea, but United’s most consistent manager in terms of Premier League finishes in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been Ole Gunnar Solskjær—third (2019–20) and second (2020–21). Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane also enjoyed enormous success at Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively without any prior senior managerial experience.

---