Former Man Utd striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has tipped Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick as a future Red Devils manager.

Carrick took over from Chris Wilder at Boro on October 24 with the Teesiders in 21st position in the Championship table with the former Man Utd midfielder turning around their fortunes during his six months in charge.

Middlesbrough ended the season in fourth place, 16 points adrift of second-placed Sheffield United, although some fans and pundits expected them to make a late challenge for the top two.

They now face Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals as Carrick looks to guide Middlesbrough back to the Premier League for the first time in six seasons.

Carrick worked as part of Solskjaer’s coaching staff at Man Utd and became the Red Devils’ interim head coach when the Norwegian was sacked in November 2021.

And now the former Man Utd boss reckons Carrick “will be the manager of Manchester United if he wants to be”.

Solskjaer told The Athletic: “Michael is a man of value and principles, a big family man, but his knowledge is also second to none. He’s had Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho as managers, and he’s played with the best players in the world.

“He’s a winner but he’s still in control of his emotions. I cannot see him not being the Manchester United manager.

“At United, I’d sometimes see Michael talk to the players. Some of these were ex-team-mates of his which isn’t easy, but he had an authority about him. I am 100 per cent sure that Michael will be the manager of Manchester United if he wants to be.”

On Carrick temporarily taking over from him at Man Utd, Solskjaer added: “I love him as a person, but while he never said anything to me about it, the day I got booted, I went to see him and said: ‘I’m gone, they want you to take over.’ I told him that I wanted him to do it. After ten days, Michael came to me and said: ‘I don’t want to do this.’ We were in it together and we were no longer together.

“I took that as a compliment because I had the utmost respect for him. If you see the interview I did when I left the club, I got emotional when I started talking about Michael. That’s when I got really emotional. We don’t spend too many hours in our private lives together but it was pure respect for him.”

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