Man Utd have selected Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery as their ‘dream’ appointment, according to one journalist.

The Red Devils were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth on Sunday to take their current winless run in all competitions to eight matches.

Carrick had already been under pressure heading into the fixture after a heavy 4-1 defeat to Serie A side Como in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Man Utd have been locked in crisis talks on Monday, according to various outlets, with many expecting Carrick to lose his job after a poor run of results and performances.

There have already been rumours for weeks about potential managers who could take over with Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte among the names put out there.

And now Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke insists that Aston Villa boss Emery is the ‘dream’ target for the Man Utd hierarchy as they sound out new managers.

O’Rourke adds: ‘The Red Devils are long-term admirers of the Spaniard and feel that he has done an “outstanding” job at Villa Park, given the club’s SCR issues.’

The Football Insider journalist continued: ‘He has already begun to turn around Villa’s shaky start to the season once again, with his team having now won seven of their last nine games in all competitions.

‘United are firm admirers of Emery’s work throughout his career, but are unlikely to be prepared to splash out the kind of sums needed to bring him in.’

‘I expect that decision will be made sooner rather than later’

And O’Rourke’s colleague, Mick Brown, who used to be a scout for Man Utd, reckons the Red Devils will sack Carrick “within days”.

Brown told Football Insider: “It’s a real shame for Michael Carrick, but results haven’t been good enough.

“Sometimes it really is as simple as that, whatever the reasons for it may be, football is a results business and that is especially the case when you’re managing a club like Man United.

“Their results have been miles off what they expect, and even though they were hoping he could turn things around, it looks like there is no way back at this stage.

“It has felt inevitable for a while, because if you’re not winning games, not playing well, and not showing any signs of improvements, it’s inevitable a decision will have to be made.

“After the Bournemouth game, I expect that decision will be made sooner rather than later, within days, but as I said, it is a real shame that things haven’t worked out.”