Speculation surrounding Michael Carrick's Manchester United future shows no signs of abating. The former Red Devils midfielder was handed the reins last month as Ruben Amorim's successor on a contract running until the summer. The initial plan was for Carrick to steady the ship before making way for a more prominent appointment. However, he has exceeded those modest expectations, guiding the club to four successive victories, prompting widespread calls for him to be handed the position permanently.

Numerous former United players have weighed in on a possible permanent appointment, with some arguing he deserves the job outright. Other ex-Red Devils have maintained that the club's hierarchy should adhere to the initial strategy. With that in mind, here's what every former United star has said regarding Carrick's future at Old Trafford...

Michael Carrick

Let's begin with the man himself. Carrick has frequently faced questions about his stance on the permanent Man United position.

Whilst he may harbour aspirations, he has remained tight-lipped about them. Speaking last week, he said: "I'm fully aware of the role I'm doing here and the responsibility I've got.

"We want to be successful, and I want the club to be successful beyond the end of the season - if that's me, if that's somebody else.

"At this stage, I can't control that and we'll see what happens, but it's certainly about trying to improve the team and making Manchester United stronger. Results over a short period of time don't change that."

Gary Neville

Football pundit Gary Neville has never shied away from expressing his views on the happenings at Old Trafford - and Carrick's future is no exception. Speaking shortly after the midfielder was handed the reins, he insisted that Carrick should stick to his initial brief.

"I hope he does really well," Neville stated on the Stick to Football podcast. "There cannot be any consideration that Michael takes the job beyond this season, for Michael and for the club.

"If he wins every game, look, we could be sat here in the season where he's done unbelievably well, and we're always thinking the fans are up and they're in the Champions League places, fifth or whatever. It could happen if there's a good run and we could all be getting swayed with it.

"I honestly feel like [you have to look at others] at the end of the season when you've got [Mauricio] Pochettino, [Thomas] Tuchel and [Carlo] Ancelotti.

"I've said Ancelotti. I just feel purely because he's 66 years of age, he's got probably the best job in the world right now. He's probably got one job left at club level.

"If there's one person who's got the patience, the composure, the experience of the Premier League."

Meanwhile, Neville has disclosed that the Red Devils have already commenced the search for Carrick's permanent successor. He revealed: "I asked the club what is the official position of the football club in terms of what you're saying publicly to everybody else.

"I have to say I thought their answer was pretty good. They said they've actually begun the process now, starting to look for another manager, which I thought right."

Roy Keane

In opposing Carrick's long-term appointment, Neville finds himself aligned with Roy Keane. Following Carrick's initial arrival, the Irishman insisted United required the 'best of the best'.

Whilst he's moderated that position somewhat, he still maintains the club should explore alternative options. He commented: "I don't think it's the right decision, good luck with it. Yeah, but, I'm sticking to my guns. I've said my piece, I think that he's got the job, and if he gets it in the summer then you go 'listen, good luck to him', but as a caretaker manager, it's a different animal to being manager of United trying to win league titles over the next two, three, four, five years, whatever it might be".

"I think you can get a better manager than Carrick, absolutely. But I think he's doing a good job, perfect timing for him, and even if he doesn't get the United job, these results a bit like Ruud (Van Nistelrooy), he can get another job, probably another Premiership manager.

"But just cause you're doing well at United, it doesn't mean he'll do well at another club. He's got the players back, it's all been sliding doors moments. Great for him, and he's took advantage of it."

Rio Ferdinand

Former defender Ferdinand has hit back at those remarks and admitted he struggles to comprehend Keane's position. He said: "No matter what Michael Carrick does, how well he does, and if he got the job on the back of a great ending to the season, there's still risk.

"There's an element of risk, but with every one of the names that get thrown into the hat, there an element of risk with all of them.

"I don't know in any walk of life, where someone comes in given the opportunity to do well, and put their first foot forward for a job opportunity, they smash it - and hopefully he carries on, at the moment he's smashing it, four wins out of four, and people are going 'no, he shouldn't get it though'.

"I don't understand that with Roy, I've got to be honest. I don't know how you can be so against it."

Jaap Stam

His former centre-back partner Stam has also weighed in on the Red Devils' managerial hunt and proposed that ex-Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi would be a superior choice to Carrick.

He said: "I like De Zerbi very much, you know, because of how he performed at Brighton and also now in Marseille. How he's playing with his teams, because he plays possession-based football, he's very good on the ball.

"He also sets the players in certain positions that it makes it really difficult for the opposition to press them. You know, he's going forward, he attacks. Scores a lot of goals, sometimes concedes, but you know that as a manager.

"But I think he's also a good man-manager. I think he's also good with the players and giving them the confidence, giving them the attention they need - and not only the starting XI, but also the other players within the squad. And that's what you need in a big club like that. So I would be very happy if they don't go for Carrick, and that they go for him."

Dimitar Berbatov

Having shared a successful spell together at Old Trafford, former striker Berbatov is amongst those hoping to see Carrick appointed - though he's urged caution before any hasty decisions are taken.

"I am a bit biased of course, because I used to play with him [Carrick] and I want him to get the job but let's wait until the end of the season and if they go the way they are right now, of course, why not?", Berbatov told ESPN FC.

"We have seen what happened before with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I think it was the same story so let's not jump to conclusions yet, let's just enjoy game by game how United is improving and at the end of the season we will wait and see what happens.

"He [Carrick] is in this position to show that he is capable of doing these things. So far in the games that we have watched, everything is just happening for the team and for him. Until the end of the season will be a test, and then we'll see if Michael can get the job permanently."

Louis Saha

In the meantime, ex-striker Louis Saha is advocating for Carrick to be given the role on a full-time basis.

He stated: "I would love to see Michael given the chance. He's done very well. He's a very hardworking guy but humble as well. The results are going for him at the moment but not only the results, the way the team is playing and performing, we all can see the change straightaway. He's had the biggest impact since Sir Alex Ferguson.

"He does provide an answer to the question about the next manager. Necessity, I do think they need to think about Carrick very, very, very seriously there.

"We know the expectation is so big and sometimes both have certain types of conversations and they want to see a long-term plan. Do they see this is a spell where everything is going well for Carrick? Who knows how he reacts when he's under more pressure.

"So maybe he needs to be challenged in that sense to be considered for the full-time role. I don't know.

"What I see is that he understands the DNA of the club, he's been under pressure, maybe not as a manager but as a player, he understands how those managers have reacted before as he was part of the coaching staff. So he understands. He's not a rookie. So I do think he deserves his position but when names like Ancelotti, Zidane come into play, it's a kind of a different ball game."

Owen Hargreaves

Former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves was the latest ex-player to weigh in, arguing that Carrick's impressive spell makes it virtually impossible to overlook him for the permanent position.

"I don't see how you couldn't give it to him," Hargreaves told MEN. "What would have been the point of working that hard? You can get elite managers in, but that doesn't guarantee success.

"What Michael's doing is very impressive. The fans are happy, which is important. The players are happy and that's important, but the most important thing is that the team wins.

"United have had big-name managers on the bench. They had two of the greatest in the last 10 years, up there with Pep and Ancelotti: Van Gaal and Mourinho. A huge name comes with more expectation."