Michael Carrick's Transfer Strategy at Manchester United

Michael Carrick knows exactly what he has walked into at Old Trafford. Privilege, yes. Pressure, absolutely. And this summer, that pressure has a very specific shape: transfers.

Carrick pushes for more

On the eve of his first full Premier League season in charge of Manchester United, Carrick is trying to strike a delicate balance. He is happy with what has been done. He is adamant it is not enough.

United have already committed £83m, bringing in Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, while Karl Darlow has arrived on a free to provide back-up in goal. Sensible business. Necessary business.

But not complete business.

Left-back remains light. Central midfield still looks short for a club returning to the Champions League after two seasons away. And in a market where United have already walked away from deals for Elliot Anderson and Matheus Fernandes rather than match rival offers, the gaps are glaring.

"We want more, we need more, we keep looking for how we can do that," Carrick said. The line was simple, but the message was clear.

United are spending less than newly promoted Ipswich and Coventry. They are trying to avoid the expensive missteps that have scarred previous windows. Yet Carrick knows that caution has a cost of its own.

"Money's money, I get that," he said. "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 bigger stage

Carrick cuts a relaxed figure right now, helped by a rare summer that has not been swallowed up by long-haul tours. United have stayed closer to home, heading to Scandinavia for games against Wrexham, Rosenborg, Atletico Madrid and Paris St-Germain, before a meeting with Leeds in Dublin.

Away from football, Thursday brought a personal high: his daughter received the A-level grades she wanted. The manager who spends his days talking about pressure and expectations watched someone he loves handle her own.

"I love the position I'm in," he said. And he sounded like he meant it.

He talked about the split nature of the role. On one side, the pure football: tactics, training, building a team. On the other, the front-facing job: being the figurehead of a global institution, shaping "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," he added.

Rashford question lingers

Not every question had such a smooth answer.

Carrick was given multiple chances to say Marcus Rashford will definitely still be a Manchester United player when the transfer window closes on 1 September. He declined them all.

"He's our player," he kept repeating. Nothing more. Nothing less.

It was also striking how determined Carrick was to play down the idea that his prior relationship with Rashford is something unique or delicate to manage. The England forward is one of several players he has coached, managed or played alongside.

"It is not a unique situation at all and [we] treat him exactly like any other player," Carrick said.

Plenty of supporters do not see it that way. Many have not forgiven Rashford for what they view as a coolness towards United during his loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona, where most assumed he would be this season.

Those close to him accept there is a stark contrast between the disinterested figure he became under Ruben Amorim and the fully engaged version widely regarded as the best academy product United have produced since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

The irony is hard to miss. Rashford’s likely first outing back in United colours will come against Amorim’s AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday.

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

"Football's got different directions," he said. "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 was not the only England international to rejoin United this week. Kobbie Mainoo also returned on Sunday evening, and for Carrick, it carries a sense of déjà vu.

When he took over from Amorim in January, after Darren Fletcher’s brief interim spell, Carrick inherited a midfielder of obvious quality whose confidence had been dented by a lack of faith from his previous manager. Mainoo had been on the fringes, his talent acknowledged but underused.

At least Amorim did eventually bring him off the bench in the Premier League last season. Thomas Tuchel did not even go that far at the World Cup, where Mainoo failed to make a single appearance despite England’s evident need for a midfielder who could keep the ball under pressure.

Carrick knows exactly how that feels. Fabio Capello barely looked at him during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The experience has shaped how he deals with players left on the outside looking in.

He spoke to Mainoo "through the World Cup" and says the youngster has been "in great spirits" since coming back.

"I spoke to him all the way through the World Cup, not loads, but little bits," Carrick explained. "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 understands the weight of the shirt, the impatience of the fanbase, the history looming over every decision. He also understands that for all the talk of privilege and perspective, Manchester United will ultimately judge him on one thing.

Whether all this careful squad-building, emotional management and transfer restraint leads back to winning.