It might be a recruitment drive with a difference for Michael Carrick. Perhaps Manchester United’s priority in the summer transfer market was to find the new Casemiro. In one respect, though, it was to get the next Michael Carrick. Twenty years after his arrival from Tottenham, the current manager may be the last central midfielder United have bought to prove a sustained success.
There are others who have prospered for a year or two – Casemiro, who had two fine seasons out of four at Old Trafford, is a case in point; Carrick’s teammates Anderson and Owen Hargreaves were, too, along with Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, and maybe even Fred and Marouane Fellaini. There are others, like Manuel Ugarte, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sofyan Amrabat, who were almost exclusively ineffectual.
In contrast, Carrick lasted a dozen years, played 464 games and was a linchpin for most of them. Perhaps, then, that first-hand knowledge of what it takes to operate at the heart of the United side made him the right man to identify a successor.
So far, two have arrived, Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa. United want a third addition, and have posted a £60m bid with Brighton for Carlos Baleba. Perhaps none is a direct replacement for Casemiro; but then, given the Brazilian’s idiosyncrasies, maybe no one could be.
Carrick is overseeing an overhaul. “I know we’ve got a good midfield,” he said. “We’ve brought in some really, really top players and really good characters, which is important. We’ve got to evolve and we’ve got to improve.”
He sounded satisfied, though some targets have proved elusive. A £35m move for Atalanta’s Ederson broke down when a medical revealed concerns about the Brazilian’s knee. United liked Aurelien Tchouameni, but he remains at Real Madrid. They wanted Mateus Fernandes, but Tottenham paid West Ham £85m for the Portuguese, and Elliot Anderson, but Manchester City splashed out £116m on the Nottingham Forest player. In each case, it was a bid that seemed to take United out of the reckoning.
That may be a sign of how times have changed. Pogba cost a then-world record £89m; United may not be big spenders any more, may not be competing at the top end of the market. They got Santos for £48m, Tielemans for just £35m, due to a release clause. That felt like a bargain.
In the summer of the £100m midfielder – Sandro Tonali as well as Anderson, perhaps with more to follow – Carrick thinks United have found value for money.
“There’s certainly players that have been more expensive, I think that’s pretty obvious,” said Carrick. “We’re delighted with the two that we’ve brought in and for the money. But actually take that away, I’m delighted that we’ve got them. Two fantastic players give us really good balance, give us a lot within the team, offer us different things. So certainly for the value that we feel we’ve got, I think we’ve done very well with them two.”
Tielemans is an instructive case. He has joined at 29 and Carrick, 25 when he debuted, was no rookie when United signed him. The Belgian is a fine passer of the ball, just as his manager was. The sense, perhaps, is that Carrick’s vision of a midfield is more constructive than destructive; should it be Tielemans alongside Kobbie Mainoo, there is no real ball-winner. But the same may have been said when Carrick was paired with Paul Scholes. Carrick has also used Mason Mount in a deep midfield role in pre-season, though he is a fitness doubt now. Casemiro could be called a defensive midfielder; Mount rather less so.
Two decades ago, Carrick cost £16.8m, which struck some as excessive then, but proved money very well spent. Now the rather bigger price tags attached to other midfielders at least reflect a widespread recognition of the importance of the role. “The midfield connects the whole team together and has a big say on how the team performs with and without the ball, and the character and the personality of the team,” Carrick said.
Part of Carrick’s appeal on the pitch lay in his calmness and consistency. That, it seems, is what he wants in a midfield. “I think the foundation of the team is important to be consistent, to be consistent through one game from start to finish, to be consistent over a period of time,” he said. “You need a solid foundation through the middle of the team … If you look at all the top teams over the years, all the great teams over the years, the spine of the team is really strong. So we’re conscious of that, and I think we’ve got a good spine of the team right now.”
They will need one. Perhaps the midfield reflects how and where United lost their way. Over 20 years, Arsenal and Chelsea, Liverpool and City had many a hugely successful signing in the centre of the park. United, given that Bruno Fernandes is more of a No 10, did not. In Tielemans, Santos and, maybe, Baleba, Carrick hopes he is changing that. And few are better qualified to judge a United midfielder than him.
