Manchester United chiefs are reportedly not fully sold on the prospect of appointing Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann or Antonio Conte as Michael Carrick's replacement, with a new frontrunner target emerging according to a report.

Man United had been widely expected to sack Carrick following Sunday's 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth, but the Red Devils hierarchy have decided to give the 45-year-old the chance to turn the club's fortunes around, according to GIVEMESPORT sources, starting with Saturday's Premier League clash with Chelsea.

It will be a big week on the training pitch for Carrick as he looks to galvanise a team that has now gone eight matches without a win in all competitions, and have only won two of their 12 fixtures this term.

United's form has been chalk and cheese compared to the first half of 2026, and there are also issues to deal with in the dressing room too, following the recent outbursts involving Lisandro Martinez and Bruno Fernandes, who Carrick must decide whether to bring back into the XI at Stamford Bridge after he was left as an unused sub against the Cherries.

The Red Devils have been linked with a whole host of potential new managers in recent days, with GMS sources revealing that Howe and Nagelsmann are seen as two of the frontrunners if a change is made, with both having their admirers on the United board.

However, Sun journalist Samuel Luckhurst claims that club chiefs aren't actually fully convinced about appointing either of those two, or Conte, to replace Carrick.

Instead, he has suggested that two in-work managers in Aston Villa's Unai Emery and Brighton and Hove Albion's Fabian Hurzeler are their preferred targets, even if moves for either would be very pricey.

GMS previously revealed that Hurzeler has no intention of leaving Brighton right now following a strong start to the season, while journalist Guillem Balague told our Market Madness podcast that he expects Emery to stay where he is because he is happy at Villa Park.

Emery Would be the Dream Appointment

A move for Emery appears unlikely for many reasons, not least the fact he is happy where he is and with the level of control he is at Aston Villa, and the likely big compensation fee it would take to prise him away from the Midlands club.

It has been suggested it could take £20m to get him out of Villa Park, but some would argue that would be good value for money given what he has achieved at Villa in recent years.

The Spaniard is currently being labelled as the 'best manager in the Premier League' by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, and his colleague and United legend Gary Neville had similar things to say earlier this year after fearing Emery could quit the club.

He said: "The goals that Villa conceded were horrific. But you looked at the Villa team as it was announced, and you looked at the Villa bench, and you were like, ‘they’ve had the heart ripped out of it.’

"You talk about who’s left – Tielemans, Rogers, Konsa. Talk about the heart being ripped out of Newcastle’s midfield. I mean, the experience that they’ve lost there. And there’s this peculiar thing going on at the moment with PSR, and sort of no one knows where the money is. It’s all over the shop, isn’t it?

And so Villa will be sat there. Villa’s fans will be sat there. They’ve got an outstanding manager, and the big thing that I was thinking during that match at 4-0 was, ‘they’ve got to keep Unai Emery‘. Is Unai Emery going to think ‘Hang on a minute, I can’t be associated with this

Emery has transformed Villa and despite regularly losing his best players, he is part of a recruitment team that continues to get things spot on, as shown by the success of the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Zion Suzuki and Johan Manzambi this summer.

Villa were outstanding as they inflicted Manchester City's first league defeat of the season on Saturday, and it once again showed Emery's elite tactical awareness, as well as his ability to extract the maximum out of his players.

He would be the perfect boss for United, but unless something drastic happens, it appears unlikely that the move will happen.