Jermain Defoe has insisted that two Manchester United first-team players have impacted Michael Carrick’s precarious 2026-27 run as manager for all the wrong reasons.

Michael Carrick hit an all-time low point during his reign as Manchester United manager on Sunday after the Red Devils chalked up eight winless matches in a row.

The 45-year-old watched Como thump United 4-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday before Bournemouth inflicted a 3-0 defeat on his side at the weekend.

The former Red Devils midfielder’s future is hanging in the balance after United’s latest setback against Bournemouth in their Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have given their verdicts on possible Michael Carrick replacements

Both say NO to Eddie Howe and YES to Roy Keane

Jermain Defoe singles out Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez for the negatives on Michael Carrick’s Man Utd reign

Manchester United’s lacklustre Premier League results have only been one concern for the under-fire Michael Carrick, who has had to deal with noise off the pitch as well. Bruno Fernandes was met with heavy criticism after the Red Devils skipper spoke out about Carrick’s tactics in United’s Champions League clash against Como last week.

Carrick made the major call to drop Bruno Fernandes for United’s subsequent match against Premier League side Bournemouth at Old Trafford. Lisandro Martinez, on the other hand, dropped a bombshell interview after Man Utd’s 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid by criticising Ineos’ summer transfer spending.

Speaking at the Ballon d’Or ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday, Jermain Defoe was critical of the damage that Fernandes and Martinez’s actions have had.

“But to see him [Carrick] in that press conference yesterday and see how deflated he looked, which is normal, because he cares so much about that football club,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s a massive job. One of the biggest clubs in the world. Desperate to do well. It’s not happened. And then you’ve got arguably two of your main leaders in the changing rooms come out. You’ve got a World Cup winner [Martinez] and you’ve got your captain [Fernandes] that [sic] come out publicly to say what they’ve said.”

Defoe added: “It’s a difficult time at the club — throughout the club and that. But we’ll see what happens. I would love to see him stay in the job, but we know how football is.”

Martinez’s comments included taking a swipe at director of football Jason Wilcox for United’s lack of investment in key areas of the squad outside of the midfield. Following the fallout from United’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, the 28-year-old Argentine defender has since apologised for his comments in a public statement and was reportedly fined for his remarks.

When discussing Carrick’s turbulent period at Old Trafford, Defoe said: “He obviously cares about the football club. He’s got a lot of grace in terms of what he’s done at the football club. And you saw it from the reaction from the fans yesterday.

“And then the reaction from the fans when he went down the tunnel to the rest of the group; they made it clear who they’re supporting. We all know the problem isn’t Michael Carrick.

“But, you know, unfortunately, in football, managers are the ones that get sacrificed. So, yeah, we will see what happens. But it was always going to be difficult for him. It was always going to be difficult.”

Man Utd will return to Premier League action this weekend and Chelsea will host the struggling Red Devils side at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. United and Chelsea’s match is slated for a 12:30pm kick-off time in the UK.