Man Utd hire former Liverpool recruitment chief Michael Edwards headhunted

Manchester United have agreed a deal to appoint Michael Carrick as their interim head coach after they sacked Ruben Amorim last week, and one of his coaching staff has ties to Liverpool

Michael Carrick has agreed to become Manchester United’s new interim head coach. The Red Devils have been on the hunt for a replacement for Ruben Amorim after he was sacked last week.

Carrick emerged as the frontrunner after the club spoke to him and former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former England international has been out of work since leaving Sky Bet Championship side Middlesbrough in the summer.

Joining Carrick at United will be former Liverpool scout and Premier League defender Jonathan Woodgate.

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Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion will also be part of Carrick’s staff, while former England assistant manager Steve Holland is set to be his number two.

Woodgate hung up his boots in 2016 following a second stint with boyhood club Middlesbrough, having also played for Leeds United, Newcastle United, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City during his career.

And shortly after hanging up his boots, he joined Liverpool’s recruitment team, having built up a friendship with Michael Edwards during their time together at Tottenham Hotspur.

Woodgate worked as a scout for Liverpool, focusing on players in continental Europe. As well as scouting in Spain and Portugal, he was also used by the club to oversee specific targets elsewhere.

“After I finished playing at 36, I got a call from Michael Edwards,” Woodgate told The Coaches’ Voice back in 2021. “He had been an analyst at Tottenham during my time there and later became Liverpool’s sporting director.

“He knew I loved my video sessions with him at Spurs, and he offered me the chance to do a bit of recruitment work for Liverpool – specifically, focusing on players in Spain and Portugal.

“I dived straight in, and I loved it. I learned so much about that side of recruitment – being able to really tell if a player had a good game – and it gave me another skill going forwards.”

Woodgate stepped down from his role with the Reds back in March 2017 in order to become first-team coach at Middlesbrough.

The 45-year-old, who also had a brief spell at Bournemouth in 2021, returned to the Riverside in October 2022 as a first-team coach following the appointment of Carrick. He departed the club alongside the former Manchester United man in June last year.