Manchester United Head coach Michael Carrick says it is positive Kobi Manu will sign a new deal to stay at Old Trafford.
Manu is negotiating an extension running until 2031 that would ensure him a significant pay rise over his current contract, which was signed in 2023, when he joins the senior team.
“It’s getting closer, so we’re positive about that,” Carrick said.
“Time will tell how it goes but we are calm about it and at the moment we are in a good position,” he said ahead of his side’s clash with Leeds United on Monday.
This will be welcomed by most Manchester United fans – because when they last played at Leeds on January 4, it was unthinkable that Manu would stay.
At the time, the midfielder had not started a Premier League match all season under Ruben Amorim. But a 1–1 draw at Elland Road proved to be Amorim’s last.
20-year-old Manu was absent at the time with a calf injury, but he still had winter transfer window options, having had a request to join Napoli on loan the previous summer rejected.
But in his post-match press conference at Leeds, Amorim criticized the club’s hierarchy in such harsh terms that he was sacked within 24 hours.
Carrick watched that game with Wayne Rooney and their respective families while on holiday in Barbados. At that time, she had no idea how her life was about to change.
“There was really no indication of it at that stage,” he said. “I was supporting from afar and enjoying time with my family.
“That’s how the game works. It can change rapidly. You can be in or you can be out, or results can go one way and go the other and if the players are fit and in form, the game turns.”
“So we can never take anything for granted and you have to live in the present and see what’s going to happen next week – and keep trying to improve.”
That’s why, despite seven wins and one loss in his 10 matches in charge, Carrick isn’t getting excited.
That period has taken Manchester United to third in the table and they need only four wins and a draw from their last seven matches to ensure Champions League qualification.
However, United’s position is so strong that many are arguing that it would represent a failure if they failed to do so.
Carrick is not one to boast – and doesn’t go for easy headlines. But his innate ambition means he is in a difficult position.
Asked about the failure aspect, his response was, “Strong word.” But then: “I didn’t say that. No, I wouldn’t accept it, no,” was his response when it was suggested that his first rejection meant the sixth would be acceptable.
Carrick is more comfortable talking about long-term goals, which are in line with his own goals when he was a player at the club.
He admits that, after finishing 15th last season, the jump cannot be made in one go.
“As a club we want to challenge at the top level,” he said. “There is no way to get away from this.
“But there are some steps. We also have to be realistic: talking about where we came and where we are now and just keep working on that.”
Champions League qualification would be an important step – both from a financial and prestige point of view.
“It’s absolutely clear to everyone that if you finish a few places down in the league, economically it makes a huge difference,” he said.
“The Champions League brings a lot of positive things. It’s where we want to be, we can’t move away from it. It impacts a lot of different things: players staying, players coming.
“We have to try and get used to being there more often.”
