Carrick confident United future to be decided soon
Rumours around Michael Carrick's Manchester United future continue to swirl, and he says it will not be long before everything is decided.
United hosts Nottingham Forest on Monday (AEST) before travelling to Brighton and Hove Albion on the final day of the Premier League campaign, with its UEFA Champions League spot already wrapped up.
It just need one more point to secure third, which would be its best finish since 2022-2023, when it also finished third.
Reports this week have suggested Carrick, who took over after Ruben Amorim's sacking in January on an interim basis, is in talks over a two-year deal, with senior figures at the club confident he is the right man for the permanent job.
The former midfielder has faced questions over his future every week, and although he insisted there was no change on Friday, he noted that a decision was not far away.
"Can't blame you for asking, two games to go, there's not much else I can say," Carrick said.
"Listen, the future for me is going to be decided pretty soon. We knew that it was going to be towards the end of the season, if not the end of the season, so nothing has changed.
"There's no big swing on that, that is what it is, and obviously whatever is beyond that is pretty close around the corner anyway."
Only Manchester City (34) has won more points than United (33) in the Premier League since Carrick took over, with the Red Devils only losing twice under his management, winning 10 times and registering three draws.
Ahead of its final home game of the season, Carrick also confirmed Casemiro was back and available after missing last weekend through injury.
Casemiro announced earlier this year that he would be leaving United at the end of the current campaign, but he will get the chance to step out at Old Trafford for the last time.
"Casemiro is available," Carrick added. "He gave absolutely everything in every aspect, knowing that it was going to come to an end at the end of the season.
"As I've said before, it's a credit to him for the way he's gone about that, and just because it's coming to the end and there's clarity with it, it's easy to go the other way as well.
"He's fully invested, he's fully supported us as the staff and the performances that he's given, so he's obviously had some ups and downs, as we all have in football and over the years, but to finish so strongly and to see that connection that he's got with his supporters is really good."
Meanwhile, United centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has confirmed he had to undergo surgery on an injury that has kept him sidelined since December, meaning he will miss the last two matches and be unavailable for Netherlands at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
"After six months of treatment and working hard to get back, surgery was the only option left," De Ligt said in a social media post.
"I'm disappointed I couldn't help the team the last six months, and obviously missing out on the [FIFA] World Cup, but I am looking forward to doing everything to get back in front of the fans and feeling better again."
