Unai Emery As Manchester United Manager? PL Legend Thinks It's A Perfect Match

Last Updated:March 15, 2026, 18:57 IST

Jamie Carragher believes Unai Emery should be a top candidate for Manchester United's head coach.

Former Liverpool defender and pundit Jamie Carragher believes Unai Emery would be the ideal candidate to lead Manchester United, arguing the Aston Villa boss should be near the top of the club’s shortlist for their next permanent head coach.

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Carragher said it was a surprise that Emery’s name had not featured prominently in discussions about the role at Old Trafford.

“I suspect he does not rank high among the candidates," Carragher wrote. “That is good news for Aston Villa, but it must be frustrating for one of the best, and still most underrated, coaches in Europe. For Emery not to be under serious consideration says plenty about modern football. By any metric, he would be the perfect coach to revive United."

“Emery is a manager who wins trophies, has a clear football vision, a track record of revitalising clubs in need of a mini-revolution to break into the Champions League, and who demands respect while leading with authority."

United are currently being led on an interim basis by Michael Carrick, a young attacking manager with a legendary player status at the club. Carrick has impressed since taking charge, helping the team win six of the eight matches in charge and climbing into the top four, moving ahead of Villa in the table, but he has declared several times that he won’t be here beyond the season. Reports suggest that the feeling is mutual.

Carragher believes Emery’s pedigree and experience make him a stronger long-term option. However, he admitted that Emery’s all-encompassing style of being the face of the club could be a problem in Manchester.

“That will carry weight with members of United’s board, even though candidates should be judged on their coaching and managing skills, not how their arrival would affect the job security of those above them," Carragher wrote. “It has reached a point where if a younger, up-and-coming version of Alex Ferguson was on the market, some sporting directors would probably hesitate to approach him because they would fear for their own relevance."

Carragher also acknowledged the challenges the former Arsenal and PSG coach could face if he were to take charge at Old Trafford, given the intense scrutiny surrounding the club.

“The suggestion that United’s boardroom would chew Emery up and spit him out like Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain after the first bad spell has merit," Carragher added. “If he started a new season as he did at Villa Park last August, Emery would be fire-fighting and it would make it tougher to lead such a spectacular revival as he has… Despite this, it is naive to believe Emery would not be attracted by the United job if he felt they really wanted him."

United and Villa meet at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.

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