Our Man Utd correspondent Steven Railston answers questions on the club and what is going on at Old Trafford.

04:00, 10 Apr 2026

Manchester United’s lengthy gap between games in the Premier League is almost over. United drew 2-2 with Bournemouth before the international break, and 24 days will have passed without a game when they play Leeds at Old Trafford on Monday.

United filled the gap with a four-day training camp at Carton House in the Republic of Ireland, which provided Michael Carrick the opportunity to oversee an intensive training period to prepare for the run-in.

Carrick’s future will be at the top of the agenda until the end of the season. He has won seven of his 10 games in charge as interim boss, and this week’s Q&A has touched on whether he should land the job permanently.

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We run weekly question and answer sessions, so click here to submit your questions, and we’ll answer them next week. Here are the answers to some of this week’s questions:

If Carrick can maintain the top 3 until the end of the season, why not give him the job? Oswald

Many fans will have the same opinion. Carrick has done a wonderful job since his arrival in January, winning seven from 10 games, and he is the frontrunner to land the role on a permanent basis this summer. United sources have maintained they are undergoing a thorough process to decide who gets the job, but there is no other outstanding, attainable alternative on the managerial market.

If an elite manager is available, United must make an effort to bring that candidate in. Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique have a proven track record at elite European clubs, and they are admired by United, but Nagelsmann will manage Germany at the World Cup this summer, and Enrique is expected to sign a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

Oliver Glasner and Andoni Iraola have done well at Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, respectively, but managing United is another level. Carrick is already in the building and he is proving he can cut it. The players have backed him for the job, and he should get it if he secures Champions League football, provided Nagelsmann and Enrique are unavailable.

I want to know if Bruno Fernandes will stay? Joshua

United had a very good summer transfer window last year, but you could argue their best piece of business was keeping Fernandes, who has enjoyed a magnificent campaign. United must do the same this summer, but Fernandes won’t discuss his future with his agent until after the World Cup. That’s what he said when I spoke to him during a sit-down with fellow journalists at Carrington in October, anyway.

You never know in football, but I’d be shocked if Fernandes left at the end of the season. United are set to return to the Champions League and could mount a Premier League title challenge with a few more great signings, so Fernandes should be inclined to stay put in Manchester, a city he loves.

How settled a player is at a club is often overlooked, but it’s hugely important. Fernandes’ wife loves Manchester and told him that their future was at United when it was up for debate last year.

And I understand there is no desire for Fernandes to leave United ahead of a summer transfer window in which investment will be made to strengthen the midfield, so it would be a big surprise for him to leave.

Will JJ Gabriel play for the first team next season? Godwin

You’re not the only supporter who is wondering whether Gabriel will play for the first team. The 15-year-old has trained with the first team on several occasions, and United are set to include him in the pre-season tour squad.

Gabriel might have made the bench this season for the first FA Cup fixture, but there weren’t many senior players missing due to injury, and United were drawn against a Premier League team (Brighton).

The talented youngster was 14 when the season began, so he’s not been eligible to feature in the Premier League this term, but the FA Cup rules are different and allow younger players to compete, which is why I asked Darren Fletcher about him ahead of the Brighton game.

However, he will be old enough to play in the Premier League in 2026/27, and there are plans to give him an opportunity in the right circumstances, so a debut could come in a cup competition.

Are United still looking for a lender for their new stadium? Eli

United recently confirmed that a new 100,000-seater Old Trafford will be financed privately. They are having ongoing “positive conversations” with potential investors and stakeholders to thrash out deals. Sir Jim Ratcliffe initially floated the idea of taxpayers partly funding the £2billion project, but that wouldn’t have been realistic when the economy was booming, let alone given the state of the United Kingdom today.

The update raises the possibility that United could reach record levels of debt to finance the new stadium project. In February, United announced their financial figures for the second quarter, and the numbers shockingly confirmed the club’s debt is close to reaching the £1.3bn mark. The levels of debt could each reach an unthinkable amount, depending on the terms of the agreements reached to fund the project.

With the new stadium project, is there a way Ineos could build the stadium and then loan it back to the club, or the club pay an annual fee to use it? Therefore, the debt is not leveraged against the club and would not affect the FFP. JT

That’s a clever idea, and it would protect the football club, but Ratcliffe would not allow his petrochemical company, Ineos, to take on the liability at a time when they are cutting costs. Financial outlets reported at the start of the year that Ratcliffe was in talks to sell parts of Ineos in the hope of raising millions of pounds to tackle rising debt.

There has been a prolonged downturn in the global chemicals industry, and Ratcliffe is trying to future-proof by selling off assets, so funding the £2bn Old Trafford project wouldn’t make sense for his company.

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