Wyness: Howe would fix United's culture first while Nagelsmann would overhaul the style

Former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness has outlined how Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann would take fundamentally different approaches if either were appointed Manchester United manager, with Howe likely to target cultural reform before tactical change.

Speaking to Football Insider, Wyness argued that United’s hierarchy must first correctly diagnose the club’s core problem before settling on a successor to caretaker Michael Carrick. “I think they’ve got to diagnose what the problem really is rather than who the issue is,” he said. “Eddie Howe would be more about trying to fix the culture, which he did at Newcastle quite well, and Nagelsmann’s more about the concept and the way the style goes as well.”

Wyness warned that failing to match the manager to the actual problem is precisely what has landed United in their current predicament. “Diagnosing what the problem is and then having a manager to fix that issue is more important than just picking a personality or whoever seems to be the best one at the time. That’s how they’ve got themselves in trouble so far.”

The context is stark. United sit 17th in the Premier League after a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, a result that extended their winless run to nine matches across all competitions. They have lost four of their last five games.

Carrick, who took charge on an interim basis, did not conceal his frustration after the Chelsea loss. “There is a lot of emotion,” he said. “We are a great football club but we want to win football matches. The supporters make a lot of effort and pay a lot of money to watch us play. You could see the boys had the game in the right place and things have gone against us in a big way and unravelled quite quickly.”

According to The Athletic, United plan to make a decision on Carrick’s future once the current round of club fixtures gives way to the international break at the end of next week. Before then, Carrick faces a Champions League tie against Roma followed by a home Premier League match against Aston Villa.

Howe, who left Newcastle after transforming the club’s culture and guiding them back into European competition, and Nagelsmann, who won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, remain the two names most prominently linked with Old Trafford.