Michael Carrick's Challenge: Strengthening Manchester United

Michael Carrick knows the questions are coming before he even sits down. Transfers. Gaps in the squad. The weight of Old Trafford.

He does not pretend otherwise.

“We want more, we need more, we keep looking for how we can do that,” the Manchester United manager says. The message is blunt: this summer’s work is not finished.

A big job, a thin squad

Carrick is about to lead United into his first full Premier League season in charge, and he knows exactly what that means. He calls it a “privilege” to be the public face of a global institution, but the role comes with the obligation to front up when the squad looks short and the market is moving without you.

United have spent £83m so far, bringing in Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, while Karl Darlow has arrived on a free as back-up goalkeeper. Carrick insists he is “delighted” with that business.

The numbers tell a different story about the wider picture. United have already missed out on targets such as Elliot Anderson and Matheus Fernandes after refusing to match rival offers. They are currently spending less than newly promoted Ipswich and Coventry. Left-back remains light. Central midfield still looks vulnerable. The Champions League, returning to Old Trafford after a two-year absence, will not be kind to a squad with obvious weak points.

Carrick understands the tension: United must strengthen, but cannot repeat the expensive errors that have scarred recent windows.

“Money’s money, I get that,” he says. “We feel like we have to be pushing for everything we’re involved in, while being realistic of what the recent history’s looked like over a period of time.

“For now, we’ve got to make the most of it, but we’ve got to push every boundary we can to be able to win again, basically. That’s the challenge.”

A calmer summer, a manager at ease

Away from the transfer noise, Carrick has allowed himself a rare personal moment. On Thursday, his daughter received the A-level grades she wanted. He talks about it with a smile. It fits the image of a manager who has looked notably relaxed this pre-season.

United have avoided the draining long-haul tours that have become routine in recent years. Instead, they have stayed relatively close to home, with a schedule that has taken them to Scandinavia for games against Wrexham, Rosenborg, Atletico Madrid and Paris St-Germain, before a meeting with Leeds in Dublin.

“I love the position I’m in,” Carrick says. He breaks his job into two clear strands. “There’s the football side; the tactical, the training, putting the team together. Then there’s the other side; being the face of it, leading it, trying to set the right messages, the right behaviours and right tone for what we want to look like as a football club.

“I never take anything that this position and this football club brings for granted.”

Rashford question lingers

One subject he will not fully engage with is Marcus Rashford’s future.

Carrick is offered several chances to state outright that Rashford will still be a United player when the transfer window closes on 1 September. Each time, he sidesteps.

“He’s our player,” is the line he repeats.

Carrick also pushes back against the idea that his relationship with Rashford is unique. The England forward has been framed as a special case given their shared history – team-mates, then coach and player, now manager and player.

Carrick does not want that narrative to dominate.

“It is not a unique situation at all and [we] treat him exactly like any other player,” he says.

Plenty of supporters are not in such a forgiving mood. Rashford’s perceived coolness towards United during loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona has left scars. Many inside the club expected him to be elsewhere again this season.

Those who know him accept there is a stark contrast between the disengaged figure he became under Ruben Amorim and the fully focused version widely regarded as the best academy product to emerge since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

The irony is hard to miss: Rashford’s likely return to United colours is set to come against Amorim’s AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday.

Carrick is convinced the 28-year-old still has plenty to give.

“Football’s got different directions,” he says. “You’ve got to manage through the states to have a career for 10 or 15 years. It’s never going to be smooth sailing.

“But you’ve got to keep moving forward. If you keep looking back too much, it doesn’t do anyone any favours.

“It’s been good to have Marcus around this week. He’s our player. He’s a good player, and he gives us something a little bit different.”

Mainoo back in the fold

Rashford is not the only England international to rejoin the group. Kobbie Mainoo returned on Sunday evening, and for Carrick it almost feels like starting again.

When he replaced Amorim in January, following Darren Fletcher’s brief interim spell, one of Carrick’s first tasks was to rebuild Mainoo’s confidence. The midfielder’s talent was never in doubt, but he had been largely overlooked by his former boss.

Mainoo did at least make Premier League appearances from the bench under Amorim. He did not get that luxury with England. Thomas Tuchel never used him at the World Cup, even as the national side seemed to crave a midfielder who could keep the ball under pressure in the latter stages of the tournament.

Carrick knows that feeling too well. He went through a similar experience with Fabio Capello at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, watching on from the fringes when his composure might have helped.

That empathy has shaped his approach.

“I spoke to him all the way through the World Cup, not loads, but little bits,” Carrick says. “It’s challenging. From the outside we all see the glitz, the glamour and all the positive sides of football.

“But players are human beings. We all have our ups and downs. It’s important we support each other.

“It was a good experience for Kobbie. It’s a World Cup and that is a big step.

“He’s still such a young man and he’s achieved so much, so quickly. To be at the stage he’s at is an achievement.”

Carrick will now try to turn that experience into something more substantial in a United shirt. The squad still needs bodies. It still needs quality. It still needs clarity over its biggest names.

The manager has made one thing clear: he is not waiting for the market to solve everything. He is pushing, he is demanding, and he knows exactly what is at stake if United fall short again.