Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick's future will be decided at a meeting in Monaco on Wednesday, attended by minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and executives Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox.
Carrick's position is under threat after the club slipped to 18th in the Premier League following a chaotic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday.
There is a growing expectation that chief executive Berrada and director of football Wilcox will recommend to Ratcliffe and the Glazer family that Carrick be sacked. They will present their recommendation, though a decision may not come until Thursday.
The Monaco meeting, in the city where Ratcliffe is based, was planned and has not been organized strictly to discuss Carrick's future. It is expected to focus on it, however, and one item set to be part of the talks is whether to bolster his coaching team. If the decision to sack Carrick is made at the meeting, the club want to inform him face to face.
With one victory in 10 Premier League matches, United have made their worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1986-87. They sit 18th in the table, one point above bottom-placed Crystal Palace. Only Palace and Ipswich have conceded more than the 19 goals United have shipped in the league this season.
The draw with Villa was Carrick's third match in charge since the club opted to give the 45-year-old more time at Old Trafford. Results in that period were a win, a draw and a defeat.
United's board considered sacking Carrick after the loss to Bournemouth, but decided he and his players had earned the opportunity to show they could turn the club's fortunes around. It was also felt that the two-week international break in November offered a better chance to assess the start to the campaign.
It was reported in October that United had sounded out former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and ex-Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann over replacing Carrick. Former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte is known to be keen on the role, while multiple sources say former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is open to a move to Old Trafford.
Pochettino signed an extension as USA coach in August, but the deal is thought to contain clauses that would allow him to leave for specific high-profile jobs. The US have a two-legged Concacaf Nations League play-off with Haiti on 14 and 18 November.
Source: BBC
