Eddie Howe is in no hurry. The 48-year-old has been without a club since leaving Newcastle United at the end of July, and the first serious opportunity to come his way has been waved off.
That opportunity, according to TEAMtalk, was Lens. The Ligue 1 side approached Howe following the departure of head coach Dino Toppmöller in September, and a route back into the Champions League was on the table. Howe and his representatives decided the project was not the right next step.
The timing is awkward for one Premier League club in particular. At Manchester United, Michael Carrick is under growing pressure after taking just six points from six Premier League games, with the side 12th in the table and recently beaten by Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. The club is not yet looking for a new head coach in public, but reporting over the past week suggests the groundwork is being laid.
INEOS lay the groundwork
Football365 reported this week that INEOS has begun work on identifying United’s next head coach. The outlet quotes a source saying Carrick “is not the right profile to take the team to the next level technically long term” and that “there are real concerns with Michael Carrick’s training methods.”
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Carrick himself was only confirmed as permanent head coach in May, on a two-year deal through 2028, after steadying the club following Rúben Amorim’s departure in January.
Howe, Conte and Hürzeler in the frame
Howe is one of several names being floated. Paul Merson, speaking to Sky Sports, suggested he would be “probably the man they’d go for” if United moved on from Carrick, with Antonio Conte and Unai Emery also mentioned as candidates with Premier League experience.
Conte has been without a club since leaving Napoli at the end of last season, and TheHardTackle reported on Tuesday that the Italian is close to an agreement with United should the job open up. Separate reporting from talkSPORT places Fabian Hürzeler in the picture, the Brighton head coach having won the Premier League Manager of the Month award in September and taken his side to third in the table.
Julian Nagelsmann, the former Germany head coach, has also been linked. According to Football365, his representatives are “open to listening to the club’s future plans and assessing whether the project aligns with his client’s footballing philosophy.”
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Howe’s reasons for waiting
Nothing in any of this is official. Carrick remains United’s head coach, Howe has no new job, and the only firm move so far is a rejection.
The CaughtOffside write-up puts Howe’s position bluntly: 369 Premier League matches and 18 Champions League games as a manager give him the standing to wait for a project that fits. Fulham and his former club Bournemouth have also been mentioned as possible destinations, though neither currently has a vacancy either.
Howe’s next decision will depend on which of those jobs actually comes open. United visit Leeds in the Premier League on Sunday, 18 October.
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