According to reports, Manchester United have chosen their leading target to succeed current head coach Michael Carrick, and he wants to join.

Man Utd chiefs unexpectedly decided to stand by Carrick after the losses to Como and AFC Bournemouth, but it still feels like only a matter of time before he is dismissed.

Man Utd are already being linked with a wide array of potential replacements, including Antonio Conte, Unai Emery, Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann.

It has been widely reported that technical director Jason Wilcox wants Howe, while director of recruitment Christopher Vivell would prefer Nagelsmann after they worked together at RB Leipzig.

Now, journalist Pete O’Rourke has told Football Insider that Nagelsmann is now the ‘leading candidate’ to be Man Utd’s next manager after Carrick.

Julian Nagelsmann reaches verdict on joining Man Utd

O’Rourke has also reported that Nagelsmann is keen on the move to Man Utd as there has been a “long-standing association” between the two parties.

O’Rourke told Football Insider: “Julian Nagelsmann is pretty high up on the list of managerial targets at Manchester United.

“Obviously it’s being driven by United’s technical director, Christopher Vivell, who is a big fan of Nagelsmann and worked with him RB Leipzig, so there’s a long-standing association between the pair.

“As you said, Nagelsmann is a target that’s been on United’s radar for a while when every manager jobs comes up.

“He was linked with it when Ruben Amorim left, he was linked again during the summer, and it’s a job Nagelsmann would be interested in for sure.”

Despite this, former Premier League striker Emile Heskey has explained why Man Utd should target Howe.

Heskey told BestBettingSites: “It seems to be between Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann, with Antonio Conte mentioned as well. Conte wouldn’t necessarily be a bad appointment, but he would rub a lot of players up the wrong way.

“I don’t know if you’d want that right now. It’s not a bad thing in principle, but do you want to appease the players or do you really want to go in hard against them? Going in hard and shaking them up a bit might be needed, but it could also have the opposite effect.

“Eddie Howe is a safer bet. The only issue is that with a new manager coming in, you’ve got to get rid of a load of players to bring in a load of new ones who can play the way he wants. But if you’re Eddie Howe, why wouldn’t you take it? It’s Manchester United.

“It’s a huge institution, and if you get it right, you’re the person who fixed Manchester United—one of the biggest clubs in the world. And if it goes wrong, well, look how many other managers have gotten it wrong before you. You can’t really lose.”