Why Michael Carrick rejected Newcastle as Man Utd boss's reason for quitting resurfaces

Michael Carrick will be aiming for his seventh win in charge of Manchester United when his team travel to St James' Park on Wednesday, where he once dreamed of playing as a boy

Michael Carrick returns to the North East on Wednesday, as his Manchester United side take on Newcastle at St James' Park. Carrick, 44, has enjoyed a dream start to life as United's interim manager, furthering his legendary status at Old Trafford, where lifted 18 trophies as a player.

But things could've very different for the Red Devils boss, who fell in love with football while growing up as a Newcastle fan. Born in the North East, Carrick played for the legendary Wallsend Boys Club.

Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Steve Bruce are among the greats to have come through at Wallsend, who've produced a whopping 97 first-team professionals. Many in the area expected Carrick to become the next Geordie to turn out for Newcastle at senior level, having joined their academy.

But aged 15, he rejected the chance to sign his boyhood club and walked out, believing that there wasn't a clear pathway to their first team. Despite being top of the Premier League under Kevin Keegan, Newcastle had decided to scrap their reserve team.

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Former Magpies coach John Carver told Chronicle Live in 2020: "What happened with Michael was I sat with his mam and dad and told him and them how much I wanted him to sign for Newcastle. But Kevin Keegan had got rid of the reserve team and there was just no pathway.

"His parents said how much they wanted him to sign for Newcastle as he was a fan but he wanted to play football. With no reserve team at Newcastle there was no route for him."

After spending time with a host clubs who were keen to sign him, Carrick decided on West Ham. The midfielder broke through to their senior side and made 153 first-team appearances for the Irons.

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But West Ham's relegation spelled the beginning of the end for Carrick in East London. Having spent one season in the second tier, he felt compelled to leave and moved across the capital to Tottenham.

Two years back in the top flight with Spurs convinced Sir Alex Ferguson to sign Carrick in a deal worth up to £18.6million. The rest - including five Premier League titles and one Champions League success - is history, and he'll forever be remembered by Newcastle as the one who got away.

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