Nicky Butt tells Man Utd’s next manager to replace £50m signing | Football

Nicky Butt has revealed his pick to replace Ruben Amorim and urged Manchester United’s next manager to move on from Erik ten Hag’s £50m signing Manuel Ugarte.

The search for United’s next manager is on after Amorim was sacked on Monday following his criticism of the club’s hierarchy.

Amorim won two league titles with Portuguese giants Sporting before arriving at Old Trafford but that managerial pedigree was nowhere to be seen during a dismal 14 months in charge.

Manchester United only finished 15th in the Premier League last season and continued to flatter to deceive this term despite signs of improvement.

Ex-United midfielder Darren Fletcher will take charge of Wednesday’s clash against Burnley and any remaining games before the club appoint a caretaker manager for the rest of the season.

It will therefore be the summer when Manchester United appoint a permanent replacement for Amorim, with Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner the current favourite for the job.

Butt hopes one of his former United teammates gets the gig, however, insisting Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘could do a lot worse’ than appoint Michael Carrick.

Old Trafford legend Carrick largely impressed during his three-year spell at Middlesbrough before being relieved of his duties last summer.

Carrick was briefly United’s caretaker manager after Jose Mourinho’s sacking in 2018 and again three years later after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was dismissed.

‘I honestly think the next Man United manager should have a connection to the club,’ Butt said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

‘We could do a lot worse than Michael Carrick. I know people will laugh at that and say he hasn’t managed at the highest level before.

‘But he knows the football club inside and out, he’s very calm, he’s a United legend and he did a good job at Middlesbrough.

‘I think they can do a lot worse than bring Michael Carrick back.’

Whoever is appointed as Amorim’s permanent replacement, Butt hopes they discard Ugarte, who he says is ‘not a Manchester United midfielder in a million years’.

United paid £50m to sign Ugarte from PSG in 2024 but the Uruguay international has failed to pay back that hefty price-tag.

‘The manager [Ruben Amorim] said something yesterday about Manuel Ugarte doing well,’ Butt added.

‘Ugarte is not a Manchester United midfielder in a million years. Not in a million years he’s a Man United midfielder.