Manchester United's dramatic victory in midweek has given Michael Carrick a stay of execution but new details have emerged on his potential replacement.

The embattled Red Devils came back from two down to beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday, ending a dreadful run of form which had seen them go without a win in any competition since defeating Sabah almost a month ago.

While the result has lifted the mood around Carrick and his squad, it remains only the first win in 10, and the Premier League picture remains dire.

United are 17th in the table ahead of the visit of Aston Villa on Sunday and haven't beaten anybody in the top flight since Ipswich at the end of August.

If that remains the club's only league win heading into the next international break the possibility that Carrick loses his job remains very real, although a lack of conviction over what to do about his future appears to be prolonging the situation.

Hoeness a Man United candidate as Howe prospects dip

Despite long-term links to former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, the Englishman reportedly doesn't convince the powers that be at Old Trafford as much as widely believed, according to the Independent's Miguel Delaney.

Nobody within the hierarchy in Manchester is apparently prepared to make a decision on how to proceed with the manager position, amid confusion over who should be the proper replacement.

In that context, Sebastian Hoeness at Stuttgart has emerged as an option with some backing, with the German reported to be "highly rated" at Old Trafford.

However, tempering that positive view is the disastrous reign of Carrick's predecessor as permanent manager, Ruben Amorim, whose time in charge of United began almost exactly two years ago but ended in ignominy last January after 14 months in charge.

The Portuguese, now managing AC Milan, arrived from Sporting as a two-time league winner in his home country and with a reputation as one of the best young managers in Europe.

But, having been pushed to join mid-season after the dismissal of Erik ten Hag, he was never able to adapt his methods to the Premier League and spent the rest of the campaign flirting with relegation, before losing the Europa League final to fellow league strugglers Tottenham.

Amorim concern around Hoeness interest

Hoeness took over at Stuttgart with the club bottom of the Bundesliga in 2023 and transformed their fortunes. After avoiding relegation he finished second in his first full season, returning the club to the Champions League after well over a decade, and has reached two DFB Pokal finals since, winning one.

As such, he currently has a similar reputation as Amorim enjoyed prior to his nightmare in England, but it is seen as a similarly "huge" leap from Stuttgart to Manchester United.

Like Amorim, he has favoured a 3-4-3 system in recent weeks, which is very similar to Amorim, although he has also used a 4-2-3-1 formation on plenty of occasions too.

The lack of forward planning among the club's decision makers has compounded issues for successive managers and the current indecision potentially risks doing more of the same.

Backing Ten Hag despite concerns over his long-term suitability blew up in United's face, leading them to pressure Amorim to take over a squad built in his predecessor's image without a summer to implement his ideas.

The Portuguese never recovered and when Carrick led an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer-style revival last term, he was rewarded with the permanent job just like the Norwegian, only for things to fall apart this season.

Unless the Roma victory is the start of an unlikely rise from the ashes of this campaign, then the next manager, whoever it may be, faces an ever-growing task of turning the club around.