Aston Villa would want €23.8million (£20m) in compensation if Manchester United tried to appoint Unai Emery as their next manager, according to The Guardian.

Various publications understand United are in the process of identifying potential candidates to replace their under-pressure head coach Michael Carrick.

Carrick appears to be on the verge of being sacked after presiding over a poor run of form which has yielded just two wins from 12 games this season.

The Guardian claims United officials are huge admirers of Emery, who has cemented his status as one of the best managers in the world at Villa.

In a near four-year spell in charge of Villa, the Spaniard has led them to the 2026 Europa League as well as two top-four finishes in the Premier League.

However, United would need to make Emery the second most expensive manager in football history in order to prize him away from Villa Park.

Julian Nagelsmann became the most expensive coach in history when Bayern Munich recruited him from RB Leipzig for €25m (£20.9m) in July 2021.

BBC Sport understands Nagelsmann, who is out of work after leaving the Germany national team in the summer, is also a contender for the United job.

The 39-year-old is familiar with Christopher Vivell, the head of recruitment at United, with the pair having previously worked together at Bundesliga side Leipzig.

United are also believed to be running the rule over Eddie Howe, another manager who is available following his departure from Newcastle United in July.

The Telegraph understands Newcastle would be due €3.5m (£3m) in compensation if United decided to appoint Howe as their next head coach.

Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is also believed to be keen on the United post. He is available after leaving Napoli at the end of last season.

Carrick left in the dark as he arrives for United training

Carrick arrived at Carrington at 7:30am this morning and is expected to oversee first-team training despite the intense speculation surrounding his future as United boss.

United, who fell to their sixth loss of the season against Bournemouth on Sunday, travel to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Carrick was named permanent head coach in May after an impressive spell as interim boss last season, guiding United to a third-placed finish in the Premier League.

However, amid a torrid start to the season, United captain Bruno Fernandes criticised Carrick's tactics following the 4-1 loss at Como in the Champions League last week.

Michael Carrick pictured arriving at Carrington this morning [@ManUtdMEN] https://t.co/eT9jETh6IK

— utdreport (@utdreport) October 27, 2026

Fernandes was subsequently named on the bench as the 20-time league champions were put to the sword by Bournemouth at Old Trafford at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Emery is making preparations ahead of Villa’s trip to Bournemouth in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.

Alongside his success at Villa, the 54-year-old led La Liga side Sevilla to three successive Europa League crowns between 2014 and 2016.

He also won the Europa League with Villarreal in 2021, beating United in the final, and lifted seven trophies with Paris Saint-Germain between 2016 and 2018.