Man Utd to win title by 2028?! Michael Owen gives verdict on Red Devils' Premier League trophy target & reveals what they need to do to achieve ambitious goal

Ruben Amorim - after a 63-game, 14-month stint at Old Trafford - has been relieved of his coaching duties. That decision was announced on January 5, but is said to have been made prior to a 1-1 draw at Leeds that saw the Portuguese tactician speak out against his board.

Darren Fletcher, who is currently U18 boss, has been placed in temporary charge of first-team affairs. It has been reported that United want an interim appointment to take them through to the end of the 2025-26 campaign, with longer-term plans being finalised at that stage.

With Fletcher at the helm, various other former United favourites have been linked with a caretaker role at Old Trafford - including 1999 Treble winner and former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as well as ex-midfielder Michael Carrick.

Owen - speaking via Casino.org where he is UK ambassador, which helps players find the best casino online options in Britain - told GOAL when asked if the Red Devils are taking the right approach: “I think so. I particularly like the Michael Carrick option. He has obviously had a little taster of it before. He’s got his experience at Middlesbrough, and did a fine job. I can see that one. I was working with him on the television not so long ago and he didn’t sound to me as though he is pining to get back in, but if the right thing came up then I’m sure he would look at it. I quite like that one.

“It’s always the case, changing halfway through the season, a lot of the main candidates are in work and are hard to prise away. It might be a case that is the realistic option - the three names. If Fletch does well, it would be hard to remove him. If he wins at Burnley and then it’s Brighton the next game in the cup and does well there and you are looking for a manager to take you until the end of the season, then all of a sudden it would be strange to remove him and put a Carrick in or a Solskjaer. It might be that Fletch gets the role until the end of the season. I wouldn’t rule that out. I understand why that could be the case.”

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Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is said to be a top target for United. Whoever is handed the reins on a full-time basis, they will be charged with the task of making the Red Devils competitive again at home and abroad.

Chief executive Omar Berrada, who first outlined ‘Project 150’ in September 2024, told United We Stand in June 2025 of sticking with a vision that has raised a few eyebrows: “It's establishing a series of targets within a timeframe so we can focus our efforts and energy on that goal.

“Can the team win the Premier League title by 2028? Of course. We've just finished 15th and it seems an impossible task. But why not aim for it? Why not do everything in our power?”

Pressed on whether United will, with a new man at the helm, go on to hit that target, former Red Devils striker Owen - who savoured title glory under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2010-11 - said: “What’s that, another two-and-a-half years? If things go particularly well... They have got some very good players. Obviously they need a very good manager and another three or four very good players. Things change quite quickly in football. It’s difficult to see them winning the league in two-and-a-half years, but stranger things have happened.

“With a fair tail wind, the club is built for success. Okay, Old Trafford is aging a bit, but they have invested heavily in the training ground, the playing squad, the staff in general. The whole club, the fan base, is built for success. Once the juggernaut turns, I would say it will start picking up at a fair pace. However, it’s been the turning that has been the hard thing for the last decade!”

United, who sit sixth in the Premier League table, will be back in action on Wednesday when making the short trip to Burnley. They are without European football this season, and crashed out of the Carabao Cup to League Two outfit Grimsby, but can still end the season on a high and put the foundations in place on which future success can be built.