Manchester United are said to be on the brink of parting ways with head coach Michael Carrick, with the team languishing in the Premier League relegation zone after winning just one of their 10 matches. 

While a final decision is yet to be confirmed, rumours are already swirling about who the club could pick as Carrick's replacement should they decide to change head coach over the international break.

USA boss Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly towards the top of the club's managerial shortlist, with his current contract believed to contain a release clause.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils have also been linked with former Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, ex-Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann and the vastly experienced Antonio Conte, who previously managed Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. 

While the aforementioned quartet are believed to be among the main contenders, there may be alternative candidates who are at least on the radar of the Man United hierarchy.

With that in mind, Sports Mole highlights three outside picks the Red Devils could consider if they decide to replace Carrick. 

Kieran McKenna

According to the latest odds, Kieran McKenna is among the potential contenders for the Man United job, although he is seen as an outsider compared to the likes of Pochettino, Howe, Nagelsmann and Conte. 

There is a temptation to say that McKenna ‘knows the club’, but instead of using that tired old cliche, it is perhaps better to say he is someone who will be well-known by many figures at the club, and with that, there is less uncertainty about the way he works as a coach.

McKenna spent a couple of years working as the Under-18 coach at Man United before he was promoted to the role of assistant manager, where he worked with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, Ralf Rangnick and Carrick.

The 40-year-old ultimately decided to forge his own path as a manager when he took the top job at Ipswich Town in December 2021, going on to lead the club to back-to-back promotions before suffering Premier League relegation in the 2024-25 campaign.

Ipswich stuck with McKenna and were rewarded with another promotion-winning season, but he ultimately decided against overseeing the club’s latest Premier League campaign, deciding to take a break from football management.

Considering it has been five months since he made that decision, it is unclear whether McKenna is now ready to jump back into football management, although the chance to manage a club of Man United’s stature would surely be a convincing factor.

There may be a tendency to think he would be a similar appointment to Solskjaer and Carrick due to his previous connections with the club, but he has already built a stronger CV than the aforementioned pair, and his willingness to use width as a means of attack would suit a philosophy that has previously been associated with Man United.

Sebastian Hoeness

With Fabian Hurzeler and Marco Rose currently impressing at Brighton & Hove Albion and Bournemouth, Man United may want to look to Bundesliga’s exciting coaching talent for their next head coach.

Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness is seen as one of the league’s best coaches, even though his side has struggled for consistency this season.

Hoeness got his first taste as a Bundesliga head coach at Hoffenheim, where he oversaw 11th and ninth-place finishes before taking a year out of management.

In April  2023, the 44-year-old got the call from Stuttgart, who were languishing at the bottom of the table at the time of his appointment.

Hoeness lifted the club out of the automatic relegation spots before he guided them to victory in the relegation/promotion playoff against Hamburg. 

Stuttgart’s transformation under Hoeness was there for all to see when the club achieved a runners-up finish in 2023-24, their best league finish in 17 years.

While there was a drop-off in the next Bundesliga campaign, any frustration from a ninth-place finish was made to feel insignificant by Stuttgart’s triumphant DFB-Pokal, which ended the club’s 28-year wait for glory in the domestic cup.

Champions League qualification followed in the 2025-26 campaign, an achievement that means Hoeness is yet to experience an unsuccessful season at Stuttgart, the sort of consistency that Man United could certainly benefit from. 

Hoeness has shown a willingness throughout his coaching career to select a formation that best suits the player profiles in his squad, while still having a clear philosophy to certain aspects of the game, including the willingness for his teams to push full-backs and wing-backs high in a bid to get in good crossing positions.

Marcelino

Out of the three options, Marcelino is the biggest curveball on this list, although he has much more senior management experience than McKenna and Hoeness.

While he may be relatively unknown to an English audience, he has a strong reputation in Spain as a wily operator who tends to command the respect of his players.

Marcelino has managed some of Spain’s biggest clubs, including Sevilla, Valencia and Athletic Club. 

The 61-year-old guided Valencia to their first Copa del Rey triumph in 11 years in the 2018-19 season, while he beat Real Madrid for the Spanish Super Cup during his time in charge of Athletic. 

However, he perhaps spent his best years in charge of Villarreal, first for a spell from 2013 to 2016 before spending three more years in charge from 2023 to 2026. 

In his first stint in charge, Marcelino guided the Yellow Submarine to promotion before achieving three consecutive top-three finishes in La Liga and a run to the Europa League semi-finals in 2015-16.

After returning to the club in November 2023, the experienced coach steered the club to an eighth-place finish, before leading them to Champions League qualification in back-to-back seasons.

In fact, he guided the club to third spot last season, their best top-flight placing since finishing runners-up in 2007-08, but it proved to be his final campaign in charge after failing to agree terms on a new contract.

Inigo Perez’s struggle to find consistency since taking over the reins at Villarreal has only added to the sense that the club may have made a mistake by allowing him to depart.

However, Villarreal’s potential error may be an opportunity for another club, and while it would be a left-field decision to choose him as Carrick’s replacement, he possesses over 800 games of senior managerial experience, has already coached clubs with demanding fanbases and would not be fazed by the Red Devils’ precarious position in the Premier League relegation zone.

His pragmatism has sometimes been used against him as a criticism, but it may be just what Man United need after shipping 19 goals in 10 Premier League games this season.

Marcelino's keenness to play quickly through the lines and hit teams on the counter may also suit a team that is struggling for confidence in midfield and has players in advanced areas who can race in behind defences.