Wayne Rooney insists it would be a gamble to hand over Roberto De Zerbi as Manchester United’s head coach, backing former colleague Michael Carrick instead. The current caretaker manager has secured 22 points from a potential 27 since returning to the club.
United, who sit third in the Premier League table, are once again in contention for Champions League qualification after a disastrous defeat last season. Rooney has suggested that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s early tenure at Old Trafford has had a negative impact on his opinion that Carrick should be appointed as the next permanent manager.
The former United forward initially took charge briefly before taking the position permanently, but was sacked in 2021 following defeat in the Europa League final. Appearing on BBC Radio 5 Live, Rooney explained his reasons for supporting Carrick and pointed to De Zerbi, one of the high-profile managers linked to the vacancy, as a riskier option than the current United manager, despite his top-level qualifications.
He suggested that Solskjaer’s spell may have shaped Carrick’s opinion on permanent candidates, saying: “Yes, they are (different people) and obviously Michael was part of that group with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ole did really well at Manchester United and got to the Europa League final and I think we were unlucky not to win there.”
“(They) lost on penalties, but yeah, I think the club needed to rebuild a bit in terms of getting back to the top and winning major trophies, if you like. Michael knows, he’s been at that club, he’s been at that club for a long time, he knows what it takes, yeah, he’s a good manager, I think he showed that.”
“He’s shown everyone he can manage at this level without any problems, the players are responding to him, the fans are responding to him, so why change that? Why try to look for a risky player like De Zerbi? You think this could be a risk and if it doesn’t work out you’re going to be set back again. So for me, (Carrick) needs to understand that.”
However, Rooney’s former England colleague Steven Gerrard rates De Zerbi very highly. The former Liverpool midfielder has previously praised his former Brighton manager, particularly following Ethan Nwaneri’s loan move to Marseille.
Speaking about the loan deal on TNT Sport, Gerrard said: “I like it, I like it. If this works, I think anyone can be a winner. I think Mikel Arteta has been very smart here because he’s also sending De Zerbi, who has a track record of developing players. He’s going to give him time, education, development and give him more game time at Marseille.”
“If he goes through the league and gets experience like he had tonight, it won’t hurt him. He’s got top talent, so he’s got to get experience now. This will be great for the future.”
De Zerbi left the Ligue 1 outfit just a few weeks later, but has been linked with vacant managerial posts at both United and Tottenham Hotspur, but has ruled out returning as manager before the summer.
Names such as Oliver Glasner, Luis Enrique, Andoni Iraola and Julian Nagelsmann have also been mentioned as potential candidates for United.
