Ex-Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has backed his former teammate Michael Carrick to one day become manager of the Red Devils.

Berbatov says he has been impressed by Carrick since he took charge of Middlesbrough, and the Bulgarian has added weight to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s claim that he will be a future United boss:

“I’m sure Michael Carrick would also like to be Manchester United manager in the future. Anybody would want to manage the club they love, and he’s currently doing very well at Middlesbrough. Michael was a very intelligent player on the pitch, a midfield maestro, and he’s showing everybody that he’s a very intelligent manager too.”

Carrick is unlikely to be focusing on anything other than Boro’s next game against Coventry City at the moment. The Teessiders drew the first leg of their playoff semi-final and they will feel that they are in a decent position heading into the return fixture at the Riverside Stadium.

With the game taking place on Wednesday evening, fans won’t have to wait long to find out whether their hopes of Premier League football next season remain alive.

If Carrick does secure promotion this campaign, though, it certainly won’t do his job prospects any harm at all, and his progress will undoubtedly be monitored by United and other top-flight teams.