MANCHESTER UNITED APPOINTS MICHAEL CARRICK AS INTERIM HEAD COACH

Michael Carrick has reached a verbal agreement with Manchester United to take over as interim head coach until the end of the season.
Talks continued late into Monday night, with all outstanding issues resolved. Gareth Southgate’s former England assistant, Steve Holland, will serve as Carrick’s assistant, while former Middlesbrough coach and ex-Leeds defender Jonathan Woodgate, current Under-21s boss Travis Binnion and Jonny Evans will also join the backroom staff.
Evans returned to the club during Darren Fletcher’s interim spell, while Fletcher is expected to resume his role with United’s Under-18s.
Contractual details are now being finalised by lawyers from both sides, with Carrick expected to sign the agreement later on Tuesday.
The former United midfielder arrived at the club’s Carrington training base on Tuesday morning for talks with director of football Jason Wilcox. Both parties are eager to complete the deal swiftly, allowing Carrick to begin preparations and take charge of training on Wednesday, when players return ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime Manchester fixture.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed Ghanaian referee Daniel Nii Laryea to officiate the semi-final clash between Nigeria and Morocco.
The 39-year-old, widely regarded as one of Africa’s top referees, will be taking charge of his second match at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Laryea previously served as centre referee during the group-stage encounter between Algeria and Burkina Faso and was also in charge of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team for the quarter-final match between Morocco and Cameroon.
South Africa’s Zakhele Siwela and Souru Phatsoane of Lesotho will act as first and second assistant referees respectively, while Rwanda’s Samuel Uwikunda has been named fourth official. Renowned South African referee Abongile Tom will oversee VAR duties.