When Michael Carrick sat down at Carrington on Friday, he smiled when asked about the worst-kept secret in football.
‘The future for me is going to be decided pretty soon, we knew that,’ said the man who will soon be confirmed as Manchester United’s head coach on a full-time basis.
As Carrick edges ever closer to the job – and a likely announcement before Sunday’s final home game of the season at Old Trafford – Daily Mail Sport looks at what the 44-year-old must do over the summer and at the start of next season to make a success of it.
Don’t do ‘a Solskjaer’
History has been rather unkind to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a United legend as a player and a far better manager at Old Trafford than he is often given credit for.
The Norwegian led the club to second and third places in his two full seasons in charge, albeit some distance behind the leaders. The 2021 Europa League final shootout defeat by Villarreal was seen as a sliding doors moment in his reign, and that’s before you get into the destabilising effect that Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford had on the team.
Rightly or wrongly, Solskjaer’s time in charge has been boiled down to a story of the caretaker manager who got the full-time gig on the back of an eight-game winning start and an unforgettable Champions League night in Paris before nosediving dramatically. Carrick knows there will inevitably be comparisons, and addressed them ahead of last weekend’s draw at Sunderland.
‘A lot happened before in all sorts of different ways, whether it’s the interim getting the job, not getting the job, whether it’s having success or not having success. So I think the past is the past,’ he said.
Carrick is also aware of the perception of his time in charge at Middlesbrough, where a solid start faded away before he was sacked after two-and-a-half years in June of last year.
While he won’t need reminding that it’s a results business, and winning games of football is the best way to keep his job, Carrick knows that it will be even more imperative to make a solid start next season to avoid any more parallels with Solskjaer.
History has been rather unkind to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a Manchester United legend as a player and a far better manager at Old Trafford than he is often given credit for
Michael Carrick knows that it will be even more imperative to make a solid start next season to avoid any more parallels with Solskjaer
Solve the midfield jigsaw
Rebuilding in the centre of the pitch this summer will be critical to the club’s success next season. As a former United midfielder himself, Carrick will be acutely aware of that.
He will have to replace Casemiro, who has his Old Trafford farewell on Sunday and then says goodbye for good at Brighton the following weekend. That United have lost three and drawn one of the four Premier League games Casemiro did not start in this season says much about the 34-year-old’s importance.
Manuel Ugarte has hardly featured under Carrick and the Uruguayan is also expected to leave this summer, two years after arriving from Paris Saint-Germain in a £50million deal.
At least Carrick has revived Kobbie Mainoo’s career at United to such an extent that the academy graduate is back to his best and has signed a new long-term contract, just four months after asking to go out on loan to Napoli.
It means that United won’t be replacing their entire midfield this summer, although it’s possible they will still end up buying three new players in that department, with around £150m earmarked for a signing in each of the £80m, £40m and £20m brackets.
They are also expected to be in the market for a left back to replace Tyrell Malacia, who will leave as a free agent, a left winger, a back-up goalkeeper and possibly a centre back after it emerged that Matthijs de Ligt will miss the early part of the season due to back surgery.
As well as quality, United will be looking to increase the quantity of players in their squad after qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Carrick has won over Kobbie Mainoo enough to secure the academy graduate’s future
Manuel Ugarte, signed for £50m only two years ago, is now heading for the exit
Clear the decks
Carrick and his United bosses have big decisions to make on several players who face an uncertain future at Old Trafford – not least because getting players out will be important with regards to generating transfer funds and creating extra space in the wage bill.
Although Casemiro, Malacia and Jadon Sancho are definitely going as free agents, and Rasmus Hojlund’s loan at Napoli will automatically become permanent if the Italians qualify for the Champions League (they are three points above the Serie A cut-off with two games left), the situation with some other players is not so clear-cut.
High on the list of priorities is sorting out Marcus Rashford’s future, as talks between United and Barcelona continue. There is a £26m option to buy in Rashford’s loan at the Nou Camp, but Barca are trying to reduce that figure or agree another loan for next season.
Rasmus Hojlund will join Napoli permanently once they confirm their place in next season’s Champions League
Marcus Rashford (top) is reluctant to return to his boyhood club and Barcelona are in talks with United over a reduced fee
Either way, United and Rashford both seem reluctant for the player to return to his boyhood club, who would have to start paying his £315,000-a-week wages again. Both would like to resolve the matter as soon as possible, and there is interest from Bayern Munich and Arsenal if the Barca talks fall through.
Andre Onana is also due back from his loan at Trabzonspor, but United have already made it clear to the Cameroon goalkeeper that he doesn’t figure in their plans for next season and should find a new club. Current No 2 keeper Altay Bayindir is also expected to leave after United rejected an offer from Besiktas in January.
Of the other players who could go, Joshua Zirkzee appears to be closest to the door two years after a £36.5m move from Bologna. The Dutchman doesn’t really fit into Carrick’s system and failed to take a rare opportunity at Sunderland last weekend.
Get the best out of Amad and Mbeumo
Bryan Mbeumo (left) and Amad Diallo are perhaps the only two players not to have improved under Carrick’s management
Almost all of the squad have improved since Carrick and his backroom team started work in January after United brought an end to Amorim’s troubled reign, but perhaps two exceptions are Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo.
It was suggested the two players were suffering from the after-effects of representing Ivory Coast and Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations over new year before returning in time for Carrick’s first game against Manchester City. But four months on, Diallo and Mbeumo still look short of their best, which has raised some concerns about them.
Diallo was taken off at half-time of the recent win over Brentford, and then made a costly mistake when he was brought off the bench against Liverpool. Mbeumo looked unhappy to be replaced in the Liverpool game, and was then a substitute for last weekend’s draw at Sunderland.
Both are dangerous wide men when they are on form, and were often used on the same flank by Amorim to great effect with Diallo as a right wing-back. Carrick has been very protective of the little Ivorian in recent weeks, but he will need to find a way to get the best out of both players again.
