According to reports, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery would be the ‘favourite’ to replace Manchester United boss Michael Carrick on one condition.

Carrick is fortunate to still be Man Utd manager because the Red Devils are winless in nine matches across all competitions and have only won two of their first 13 matches this season.

Man Utd were expected to move past Carrick after heavy back-to-back losses against Como and AFC Bournemouth, but he remained in charge for Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea.

It has now been reported that Carrick will still be in charge for home matches against AS Roma and Aston Villa before the international break, with Fabrizio Romano admitting that it would take something “crazy” for Man Utd to get rid of him before these two matches.

Romano explained: “In general, with the international break approaching, that is going to be the moment when Manchester United can properly assess the situation, unless something crazy happens again and they continue failing to win games over the coming weeks.”

He added: “At the moment, the feeling at Man Utd is that Michael Carrick has very good chances of surviving this crisis and remaining in charge for the upcoming games.

“Then, the period around the international break is going to be important. They will assess all the options and possibilities, involving the owners, the directors and everyone at the club, before making a decision about the future of Man Utd.”

Unai Emery would be ‘favourite’ to replace Michael Carrick on one condition

Despite this, Man Utd are already linked with several potential replacements, and journalist Kaveh Solhekol has claimed that Emery would be the “favourite” to succeed Carrick over two alternatives if he “was available”.

“United’s top targets to replace Carrick are former Newcastle and Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe and former Germany and Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann,” Solhekol told Sky Sports.

“Both of them are strong candidates but United fans do not seem to be that excited by the prospect of either of them taking over.

“A clean slate and a fresh start may mean they would be able to get more out of this group of players than Carrick but there are no guarantees in football.

“If Unai Emery was available, he would be the favourite to take over but he is doing a great job at Aston Villa and is under contract until 2029.

“In any case, swapping Villa for United at this stage of his career would mean dropping down 19 places in the Champions League table and eight places in the Premier League.

“Clubs in the Premier League are also duty-bound to act in utmost good faith towards each other, which makes any move for Emery fraught with complications.”