Manchester United have been in fantastic form under Michael Carrick and the Red Devils are now looking towards the summer transfer window
Manchester United will be looking on enviously this midweek as the Champions League knockout stages progress. The Red Devils have been missing from Europe’s premier competition for two campaigns – but that appears destined to alter next season courtesy of Michael Carrick.
The ex-Middlesbrough manager has orchestrated a remarkable transformation in the club’s trajectory since succeeding Ruben Amorim. Carrick has steered United to seven victories from his nine matches at the helm, including a 3-1 triumph against Aston Villa last Sunday.
That sequence of results has propelled the 13-time Premier League winners into the top-four, where they currently sit five points ahead of Liverpool in fifth. Success against Bournemouth on Friday would strengthen that standing before their competitors play catch-up over.
Two Targets confirmed
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There’s seldom a peaceful summer at the Theatre of Dreams. And that pattern appears set to persist once the window opens with whichever candidate United opt for in the dugout next campaign, reports the Mirror.
According to reports in The Sun, the Red Devils have chosen to overhaul their midfield department once the campaign concludes with the signing of two fresh midfielders. United already appear lacking in the centre of the pitch and that’s before considering Casemiro’s departure.
His departure will leave Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte as the squad’s sole specialist central midfielders and United have been connected with numerous candidates over the past 12 months, from Sandro Tonali to Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson to Carlos Baleba.
Only time will reveal which targets the Old Trafford hierarchy choose to pursue. Yet it seems virtually guaranteed that United’s midfield will boast a fresh appearance when next season commences.
Double plea issued
Football supporters are never lacking opinions regarding who should remain and depart – and it emerges neither are United’s players. Two of Carrick’s squad have made appeals to the board in recent days, though at least one appears destined to be ignored.
Matheus Cunha, recruited from Wolves during the summer, has confessed he’s persistently pestering Casemiro to reconsider his choice to quit the club. He revealed to TNT Sports Brazil: “I’m always asking him, ‘Come on, stay at Manchester United!
“Just one year with me, let’s go for a second year.'” Leny Yoro shares the same sentiment, stating: “I think everyone wanted him [Casemiro] to stay. He’s a really important player for us. He showed it again [vs Aston Villa at the weekend].”
Yoro also has other players he’d like to see remain at Old Trafford. The 20-year-old defender is particularly fond of Harry Maguire and has encouraged the England international to renew his contract.
Maguire’s current deal expires in the summer, and whilst discussions about a new contract have taken place, it would likely necessitate a reduction in his salary.
Yoro expressed: “If he can stay next season, it’s really good for us. So I hope he’s going to extend his contract and he can stay with us. We’ll see. We’ll see anyway.”