Michael Carrick is the leading candidate to fill the vacant managerial job at Middlesbrough, according to the bookmakers.
Price on Odds Checker (opens in a new tab) at 4/5 and 11/10, Carrick is the heavy favorite to be the next man in the Middlesbrough dugout. Hailing from Wallsend in the North East, Carrick has never played any part of his career in that part of the country. Instead, he opted to go through West Ham’s academy, before moving on to Tottenham and then later Manchester United.
The former midfielder played for United between 2006 and 2018, before becoming manager under Jose Mourinho once he retired. Carrick then remained at the club when Mourinho was sacked in 2018, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer allowing him to continue as first-team manager.
However, when the Norwegian was sacked in November 2021, Carrick took over as caretaker manager for three matches. His side beat Villarreal away in the Champions League, retired to Chelsea in the Premier League and then beat Arsenal at Old Trafford.
With Ralf Rangnick already named to take over after the Arsenal game, Carrick decided to step down from the coaching staff after the game ended, leaving Manchester United immediately.
He hasn’t worked in football since, taking a long spell away from the game. That might be about to change, though.
Middlesbrough sacked Chris Wilder on Monday after less than a year in the role, with the club in the relegation zone after taking just ten points from the first 11 games of the season. Pressured to challenge for promotion at the start of the season, Middlesborough have dispensed with Wilder’s services and, according to the odds on the next manager, Carrick is the most likely man to replace him.
If Carrick becomes manager of Middlesbrough, it would be the first permanent managerial post of his career.
Leo Percovich is currently in temporary charge, overseeing Boro’s 1-0 win over Birmingham on Wednesday night. He will lead the team again in Saturday’s game at Millwall.
Recently sacked Watford manager Rob Edwards is also in the running for the role. Despite only lasting three months at Vicarage Road, Edwards impressed having promoted Forest Green Rovers to League One last season and, after all, being sacked by Watford early in your tenure is inevitable.
