Carrick led United to third place in the table and on top of a return to the Champions League. But while Neville praises his former United colleague’s achievements at Old Trafford, he believes current Germany manager Nagelsmann has had a better career.
Speaking on the Overlap Fan Debate, Neville said: “Michael is probably one of the best players I’ve ever met and is clearly intelligent. He’s at the start of his coaching career.
“I thought the other day that if he said this, it would be very classy and very Michael-esque: “Guys, I did what I had to do. I got you in the Champions League, I re-stabilized the club, I stabilized the place. Now, put someone in.” “Look, people say, who would you put in?
“And this is not the pitch for Nagelsmann to become Manchester United manager. I haven’t watched enough of his football.
“But if you look at his work at Hoffenheim, his work at (RB) Leipzig, which is a serious coaching club, then he went to (Bayern) Munich and won the league and then took Germany to the World Cup.
“And you say, ‘Yeah, let’s take a look at that coach.’ That’s a serious body of work.”
Carrick’s only previous managerial experience was at Middlesbrough in the Championship. Neville added: “When you look at someone’s body of work and say it’s not enough to compete against a club like Chelsea, you apply the same logic.
“Michael was at Middlesbrough and it was a really good start to his career and he did really well, but it’s not the body of work that makes you manager of (Manchester) United.
“That’s the argument against it. Does he have the body of work to deal with this giant that’s about to start roaring again?”
“Because what comes out of the dragon’s mouth in the next six to 12 months is important: (Manchester) United.
“Next season will be a completely different job, with Champions League football, Casemiro leaving, summer reinforcements and a lot of things going on.
“We need someone who has been in charge of Champions League football, who has been in charge of a 60-game season and who has dealt with the spotlight and scrutiny of United.”
