Eddie Howe 'would' take the Manchester United job if he was offered it, however doubts continue to persist over whether the ex-Newcastle boss is the right man to replace Michael Carrick.

United are undecided over Carrick’s long-term future and opted against making a change of manager during the week, instead giving the under-fire coach a chance to turn things around against Chelsea on Sunday.

Howe is the ideal choice of director of football Jason Wilcox, who will have the most power in any decision, however, The Telegraph report that the ex-Newcastle manager is still not the 'consensus' pick and is unlikely to be offered the job as it stands.

A source is quoted as saying: "Eddie Howe would take the Manchester United job if it was offered to him. Manchester United would be doing the right thing if they did offer it to him… but as things stand, I don’t think they are going to offer it to him.”

Part of United’s thinking was also down to the club not having a unanimous favourite of who to replace Carrick if he was sacked, with debates still going on internally over Howe or Julian Nagelsmann as the two leading candidates.

The likes of Antonio Conte and Unai Emery are also under consideration and, as such, United have decided to allow Carrick more time while a decision is made, although the game against Chelsea will prove pivotal to discussions.

Man Utd hold fire over Carrick future as talks continue over replacement

Speaking ahead of the Chelsea match, Carrick has admitted his ‘disappointment’ over an intense week which saw major uncertainty over his future as Manchester United head coach.

United are now expected to keep Carrick in charge for the short-term despite a previous belief that the club would part ways with the 45-year-old following an eight-match winless run.

Having fallen to a disastrous 0-3 defeat at home to Bournemouth last week, many expected Carrick to be sacked but the United boss insisted he was not seeking answers from the club about his future.

“To be honest, disappointment from the game, the result, initial disappointment,” Carrick said when asked how the week had been. “That's pretty, pretty clear, you know, the way the game went and the result. Dealing with that is the main thing: what could we have done better, what could we improve on, what can we make the difference with?”

Michael Carrick discusses his future as Manchester United boss and if he has received any assurances from the hierarchy 🗣️ https://t.co/8gVxZm9ATA

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When asked if he was ‘surprised’ to still be in the job, Carrick replied: “No. I'm here to do my job, you know. I'm here to do the best for the team, and I'm desperate to make us better and improve things. So, I'm not surprised, no.”

He added: “I don't need any assurances from anyone. I totally get the position, I understand the job, I understand the responsibilities, I understand what comes with that. So, I really don't need any assurances from anyone in that regard.”