'Perfect timing' – Newcastle United confirm Manchester United legend's brother as new coach

The 37-year-old is the younger brother of former Manchester United and England midfielder Michael Carrick who – despite being a boyhood Newcastle fan – never played for the club.

Carrick replaces Peter Ramage as part of a behind the scenes restructuring with Ramage now assisting Shola Ameobi as The Magpies’ loan coordinator.

Carrick progressed through the ranks at West Ham United as a youngster but injuries prevented him from following in his older brother’s footsteps as he turned to coaching instead.

The Geordie has previous links to Newcastle too having coached at the academy back in 2005 before taking up a role with the Football Association.

At the FA, Carrick was a colleague of Dan Ashworth – who was appointed as Newcastle’s new sporting director at the start of the summer.

Following his appointment, Carrick told nufc.co.uk: “I'm absolutely delighted. I worked part-time for the club 15 years ago and I always hoped I'd come back one day.

"Being from the area, I understand the privilege and responsibility of the job and it's such a special club so I can't wait to start.

"I've had a brilliant time at the FA over the 15 years and I'm certainly appreciative of the opportunities and experiences gained but I think I'm ready for a fresh challenge. When the opportunity came up with Newcastle, it seemed like the perfect timing and the perfect next step for me.

"During my job at the FA, I'd been lucky enough to work with a lot of coaches and people within the club and I have seen the positive direction the Academy is heading which is something I want to be a part of.

"I'm particularly looking forward to being out on the grass, working with players everyday and I'll give absolutely everything in trying to help them realise their potential both as footballers but also, as importantly, young people.

"The short-term aim is making sure to improve the programme for the players and helping them to progress everyday and every week, individually and collectively.

"Longer term, it's striving to deliver a high quality programme whilst contributing, along with the rest of staff, towards making the Academy better."