Cundy urges Man Utd to pursue Emery now as Carrick's position grows precarious

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick is facing intensifying scrutiny after his side surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup third round at Old Trafford — the first time United had conceded such a turnaround at home in half a century.

The defeat leaves United having lost three of their opening six matches this season, and pundit Jason Cundy wasted no time in calling for a change at the top. Speaking on talkSPORT after Wednesday night’s game, the former Chelsea defender urged owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to move for Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery without delay.

“Unai Emery, go and get him, get him out of Villa,” Cundy said. “If I were Sir Jim Ratcliffe, I’d now cut my losses and go and get Unai. Don’t wait until Christmas to have the conversation, do it now.”

His co-host Jamie O’Hara pushed back sharply on the suggestion, questioning both Emery’s appetite for the role and United’s financial capacity to make it happen. “I don’t know if Unai Emery wants to be Man United manager. Why would he want to go in there?” O’Hara said, adding: “Unai Emery isn’t going to leave Villa now anyway.”

O’Hara also highlighted the financial contradiction in Cundy’s argument. “You just said they’re skint. They’ve got to sack Carrick, then you’ve got to buy Unai Emery out of Villa, and then you’ve got to pay him £10-15 million. You just said they’ve got no money.”

The former Tottenham midfielder went further, arguing that a managerial change would not address United’s deeper issues. “You can’t keep changing your manager. You’ve got a problem, you’ve got a mentality problem. It isn’t the manager, it doesn’t matter who you bring in; you still have the same problems.”

Carrick, speaking at Old Trafford after the defeat, acknowledged the external noise but insisted it was not affecting him. “I don’t feel under pressure. Either way, that doesn’t bother me one bit. I genuinely don’t bother me one bit,” he said. “What bothers me is winning games and having a good feeling around the place and a good feeling around the group to know we’re moving in a good direction — that’s ultimately what bothers me.”

United now head into the international break with questions mounting over Carrick’s future, and no clear consensus among pundits or supporters on the path forward.