Michael Carrick Reveals Manchester United's Critical Transfer Target for Key Squad Role

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick acknowledged the club's pressing need to secure a replacement for Casemiro, emphasizing the significance of filling that "crucial role" in the defensive midfield area.

Having operated in midfield during his playing career, Carrick understands better than most how vital it will be for the recruitment team to address the substantial void Casemiro will leave when his deal concludes this summer. "Look, it's a crucial role, I believe," he shared with reporters.

"I'm not showing favoritism, clearly, having played in midfield myself, but I believe it's a vital role that helps connect everything, and you're linked to the entire team, and that's sometimes emotionally, somewhat mentally, and displaying that calmness and game awareness, and Cas has been a major influence within the squad in that regard, so it's definitely something we're conscious of going forward."

Players such as Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, Nottingham Forest's energetic midfielder Elliot Anderson and Brighton & Hove Albion stalwart Carlos Baleba are believed to top the shortlist of possible successors. Whether Carrick will remain on the touchline to guide their integration into the team remains uncertain.

Summer Window Is Biggest Test of Man Utd's New Model

Summer Transfer Period Represents Ultimate Challenge for United's Fresh Approach

United's present roster represents a patchwork of previous managerial philosophies. The 24-player group includes holdovers from five separate permanent coaches and is currently guided by a sixth distinct leader in Carrick, whose own contract runs out this summer.

The backline formation that Carrick utilized against West Ham United illustrates the problem: Keeper Senne Lammens joined under Ruben Amorim just last summer and stood behind Diogo Dalot (acquired by José Mourinho), Harry Maguire (Ole Gunnar Solskjær), Lisandro Martínez (Erik ten Hag) and Luke Shaw (Louis van Gaal). Five players representing five managers with five completely different tactical approaches.

This represents a persistent result of today's fixation with appointing and dismissing managers. Teams are far too eager to make changes and bring in a different head coach who will require a completely new roster of players. The creation of an established structure above the manager is intended to avoid this chaotic accumulation.

There's sound reasoning behind United's movement toward a sporting director structure—that one individual distanced from the locker room and the unpredictable nature of relationships which significantly influences managerial changes can supervise multiple transfer periods with the same clear objective. Managers are brought in to suit the type of players already gathered, rather than the opposite. Nevertheless, the relentless pressure that is Manchester United undermines most apparently logical approaches.

Regrettably for the Red Devils, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's quick decision-making has caused disruption at that organizational level too—Dan Ashworth's celebrated appointment as sporting director last season endured merely five months and cost the club £4.1 million ($5.5 million).

Football director Jason Wilcox has subsequently assumed the recruitment responsibilities alongside technical director Christopher Vivell. The duo managed a largely effective summer window—Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Lammens have all proven to be clear successes while Benjamin Šeško has displayed encouraging signs of improvement in recent weeks.

The absence of European competition prevented a midfield overhaul last summer (or in January) but the broader market conditions have worked in United's favor this year.

Man Utd Set to Benefit From Market Trends

United Positioned to Capitalize on Market Developments

The player market typically follows patterns. Following a team's surprising strong showing at a World Cup, players from that country receive a transfer boost (consciously or not) regardless of whether they participated in the tournament. Simply being connected to that achievement is sufficient to impact a highly unpredictable market.

The same applies to playing positions. Recent transfer windows have been controlled by players with similar abilities, whose worth is inflated by their rarity and the universal interest. Summer 2025 marked the period of strikers; six of the nine costliest transactions involved a center forward. United are subject to the same trends as every other team—the Red Devils purchased two of these expensive attackers (Cunha and Šeško).

Luckily for United, the enthusiasm for defensive midfielders seems to have diminished.

Data via Transfermarkt.

This obsession with a player occupying perhaps the most underappreciated position on the field reached its height between the summers of 2022 and 2023. United, yet again, contributed to this craze by spending £70 million for Casemiro four years ago. Enzo Fernández then conclusively broke the market with his record-setting £106.8 million move to Chelsea at the beginning of 2023. That summer witnessed the Blues and Arsenal exceed nine figures to acquire Moisés Caicedo and Declan Rice respectively as valuations skyrocketed.

The following two seasons have witnessed a return to reasonable levels, with average costs for central and defensive midfielders declining. United benefit from the reality that many of their primary competitors already have this position well-covered; Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City possess some of the world's finest central players.

Current European champions Paris Saint-Germain enjoy the privilege of fielding both João Neves and Vitinha while Barcelona continue to favor the combination of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. United's primary competition this summer will probably be Real Madrid—who have yet to find replacements for Toni Kroos or Luka Modrić. The competition begins.