Former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney has already told the Red Devils which manager they should replace Michael Carrick with.

United appointed Carrick on an interim basis in January after parting ways with Ruben Amorim. Just five months later, the retired midfielder had guided the club back into a Champions League qualification spot, having won more points in the second half of the season than any of his Premier League rivals.

That left Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS hierarchy with little choice but to hand him a permanent contract. But just three months into the 2026/27 campaign, things have gone awry, with Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth marking the eighth consecutive game in which United have failed to win.

With it now looking increasingly inevitable that United will soon be searching for their 12th different head coach since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, Rooney has already made his feelings clear about who his beloved club should have turned to, having backed a particular candidate as far back as January.

Who Rooney Wants To Take On Man United Job

Rooney had already made up his mind about who United should have appointed as their next permanent manager, even before Carrick's interim spell had a chance to get off the ground.

That's largely because many people associated with the club felt that, while Carrick may have a bright future in football management, his inexperience made him a short-term solution rather than a long-term project builder. Rooney put Thomas Tuchel's name forward as someone who could come in ahead of the current season. He explained, as per the Mirror:

"[Thomas] Tuchel is the one for me. He knows the Premier League, has won trophies. He is doing well at England. Time will tell."

Indeed, Rooney's thinking was that, after the World Cup, the England boss might have been open to a return to club management. As things stand, though, it would appear that Tuchel, the former Chelsea and Bayern head coach, is determined to remain in his current role until at least the European Championship in 2028.

Having finished third at the 2026 World Cup, Tuchel will surely be eager to be the man who finally leads the Three Lions to their first major honour since 1966, bringing one of international football's longest trophy droughts to an end.

But with his sights set on glory on the international stage, the Red Devils will need to find a candidate of their own who is willing to work similar miracles. As United's stock continues to fall, the pool of ambitious tacticians willing to take on such a daunting challenge may be shrinking by the day.

The Current Frontrunner For Carrick's Potential Vacancy

The outright favourite for Carrick's job is currently Eddie Howe. He recently stepped down from his role at Newcastle over the summer, and any advancement would surely be made easier by the assumption that the Englishman is ready for a quick return to football management.

With a track record of long, successful spells with both the Magpies, and with Bournemouth prior - whom he led through three promotions before helping them consolidate in the Premier League - there may not be a better project manager than the 48-year-old right now.

Indeed, the likes of Antonio Conte and Roberto De Zerbi have been mooted for the job as well, but managers that offer instant success but who usually come with more explosive personalities have been failures at Old Trafford recently.

What's more, inexperienced coaches such as Kieran McKenna lack the know-how to have a long-term impact on the club, meaning Howe might just be the best bet.