United's director of football, Jason Wilcox, and chief executive, Omar Berrada, were at Carrington discussing Carrick's future on Monday after a lull in form threatens his position.

The pressure mounting was not helped when captain Fernandes publicly questioned his tactics following United's 4–1 Champions League defeat to Como.

Fernandes criticised United's passive approach to pressing, arguing that the coaching staff had allowed Como too much time on the ball, sparking outrage as he defied authority.

Jamie Carragher called Fernandes's conduct a disgrace, while Gary Neville said the captain had effectively thrown Carrick under the bus and Wayne Rooney deemed him to be a baby.

Speaking on the Good, the Bad and the Football, the 51-year-old Scholes has now torn into the midfielder whose time in the Premier League may be over: "What Bruno Fernandes said last week, I think that’s unforgivable.

"How can Bruno Fernandes be trusted to be captain of any team he ever goes to now? I think he probably needs to get away from European football and just go to Saudi, just get out the way. I don’t think any manager, any member of staff can trust him after that."

Asked on Friday whether he would strip Fernandes of the captaincy, Carrick said: “I’ll always do what’s best for the football club. If I’ve spoken to (Fernandes) or haven’t spoken to him, I don’t think this is the time to go into too much detail.”

The Athletic claim that Carrick and Fernandes are expected to "draw a line under it" ahead of this weekend's clash against Chelsea, whilst other reports suggest Fernandes could make the switch to AC Milan to join former United boss Ruben Amorim.

Fernandes would have to wait until January to make such a switch, giving him over two months to decide on whether United is the best place for him at 32 years old.