Manchester United manager latest: Decision date 'revealed' as Michael Carrick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer considered

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer assessed: Should United hire former boss?

It is understandable if there was some hesitancy about appointing Solskjaer given he was in charge of the club as recently as 2021.

The Norwegian's reign started positively, with his man-management skills helping get the best out of stars such as Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.

Solskjaer managed to guide the club to a sixth-placed finish in 2018-19, a third-placed finish in 2019-20 and a second-placed finish in 2020-21, but he was sacked the following season with the club in seventh place.

However, the former United player has spoken about how his plans for the summer transfer window in 2021 were heavily disrupted by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, and perhaps he was judged too harshly at the time.

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Michael Carrick assessed: Is he good enough for the role?

Michael Carrick was part of Solskjaer's coaching team, as well as Jose Mourinho's, though his only role as head coach has been with Middlesbrough.

The 44-year-old won 16 of his first 23 games in charge of the team, and he guided them to the Championship playoff semi-finals in 2022-23.

Carrick's next two seasons were not as fruitful given Middlesbrough finished eighth in 2023-24 and 10th in 2024-25, and he was sacked at the end of that campaign.

Considering United's recent history of appointing Solskjaer on a permanent basis due to his interim results, it would be fair to say that there is a risk of the club being overly taken by any potential short-term Carrick success.

It may serve the Red Devils to wait until the summer and evaluate an external option amongst the number of manager that are expected to change clubs in 2026.