The job of Manchester United manager is perhaps the most challenging in world football and once again the Premier League club are all set to announce a new boss this summer.
Since legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013, the Red Devils have gone through six permanent head coaches, with Ruben Amorim the latest incumbent unable to deliver success at Old Trafford.
With two League Cups, one Europa League title and one FA Cup added to the cabinet since Ferguson left, it’s been a relatively barren spell for one of the world’s most successful clubs and Amorim was unable to steer the club back towards the top table of English football.
Following Amorim’s departure, the club have moved to bring in Michael Carrick on an interim basis until the end of the season with a new permanent boss set to be installed in the summer.
And the 44 year old has surged to the head of the betting after enjoying a terrific start in charge.
Here are the Man Utd manager on first game of 2026/27 season odds from Betfred.
| Manager | Odds from Betfred |
|---|---|
| Michael Carrick | 4/11 |
| Andoni Iraola | 4/1 |
| Julian Nagelsmann | 14/1 |
| Oliver Glasner | 14/1 |
| Gareth Southgate | 25/1 |
| Luis Enrique | 25/1 |
| Unai Emery | 25/1 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | 25/1 |
| Diego Simeone | 25/1 |
| Xavi Hernandez | 25/1 |
Odds correct as of 7:00pm on Sunday 3rd May 2026
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick has been appointed the club’s interim manager until the end of the season and having made over 450 appearances for the club during his playing days, he understands the magnitude of the task at hand at Old Trafford.
In his only previous permanent role, Carrick enjoyed a 46.32% win record with Middlesbrough in the Championship and his Boro side were very much moulded in his image as a player with a structured, possession-heavy approach favoured by the ex-England international.
He’s had a great stint so far, picking up 10 wins, two draws and just two losses from 14 games. Additionally, he has now faced all the other big-six rivals and defeated every single one.
Andoni Iraola
Andoni Iraola is set to leave Bournemouth at the end of the season. The expectation was that he would go back home to Athletic Bilbao, where he spent most of his playing career. However, the Basque Country side have been heavily linked with former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic.
So in theory there is an open path for Iraola to end up at Old Trafford. He is overseeing Bournemouth’s best-ever Premier League campaign in 2025-26 and has them fighting for European football.
With plenty of Premier League experience, his hard-working, direct and entertaining play style would surely resonate with United fans.
Julian Nagelsmann
Julian Nagelsmann’s contract with the German national team ends after Euro 2028, so it would take some convincing to get him to Manchester.
Still, his Germany side have been slightly underwhelming in big moments. The upcoming World Cup will be his biggest test.
At club level, he has only spent more than two seasons in the same team once – at Hoffenheim, his first managerial job. Since then, two years at RB Leipzig and just under two at Bayern Munich. He was fired from the latter in the famous campaign that nearly ended with a Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga title.
Nagelsmann is still 38 years old, though, and has already had plenty of top-flight experience and also could get even better in the future.
Oliver Glasner
One man who could be seen as the ideal replacement for Ruben Amorim is Oliver Glasner. The Austrian has done a fine job at Crystal Palace, leading the team to the FA Cup trophy last season and into the UEFA Conference League as a result.
They are just 90 minutes away from a European final as well, after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 away from home in the semi final first leg.
The 51 year old has played a similar shape at Crystal Palace and given that this squad has been assembled with a specific formation in mind, Glasner could step in and only need to make small tweaks in order to get more out of this underperforming side.
Of course, Michael Carrick has since moved away from the 3-4-2-1. Still, the Austrian has publicly stated that the current Palace system is not his preferred one.
With Premier League experience and a philosophy that’s similar but slightly more adaptable than Amorim’s, Glasner feels like an ideal fit to galvanise an ailing squad.
With the announcement that he’ll be leaving Palace this summer, the likelihood of a move to Manchester United appears to have increased and he’s now among the favourites with Betfred to take the job on a permanent basis.