Wayne Rooney feels Manchester United can’t afford to attend to make a call on their manager for next season as it should hamper their hopes within the transfer market.
Michael Carrick stays in interim charge of the Red Devils and the bookmakers’ favourite to land the job on a everlasting basis.
Other possible candidates remain, including Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Julien Nagelsmann, but Carrick’s successful stint since January has put him within the driving seat.
A call is yet to be announced, though, and Rooney feels the club could do with some certainty ahead of an enormous summer transfer window.
The Red Devils are set to return to the Champions League next season and can need significant investment within the squad as they prepare for a much busier campaign ahead.
The club legend understandably feels that any transfer targets shall be keen to know who the manager is at Old Trafford and Manchester United cannot afford to loaf around into the summer to make an appointment.
‘Manchester United need to speculate in players in the summertime to be able to compete within the Premier League next season, within the Champions League next season, which is where they need to be. They’ve to speculate,’ Rooney said on Match of the Day.
‘They must strengthen the squad and I don’t think there’s any denying that. Now, if I used to be a player and Man United desired to sign me, the primary query I’d ask, “Who’s the manager? Does the manager want me?” So I believe [they need] to have clarity on the manager.’
Rooney wants his former teammate Carrick to get the job after showing what he can do in recent months and for targets to know they might be coming right into a settled squad, which has been picking up results.
‘I believe for the club to announce him, I believe they should do it swiftly because they should get players in. They should get players to enhance that team.’
Carrick has also mentioned clarity himself, but stays relaxed on when he discovers his fate.
‘Clarity is essential … We’ve finished strong, put ourselves in an excellent position and the situation of my role and what it looks like moving forward, I believe it’s just the natural time,’ he said last week. ‘It was at all times spoken about towards the tip of the season, if not the tip of the season.
‘At this stage it’s just putting the boys in a spot to complete the season strongly after which, as I’ve said all along, I’m calm about it.
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‘It’ll get sorted out when it’s going to get sorted out. It’s out of my hands, so we’ll see what happens.’
Carrick has two more games to finish his audition for the everlasting role, firstly at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, then at Brighton the next weekend.
Barring a remarkable set of results, the Red Devils will finish third within the Premier League table, their best finish since Erik ten Hag managed the identical position in 2022/23.
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