Carrick calls for Manchester United to keep building squad before deadline

Michael Carrick says Manchester United still need to strengthen their squad before the transfer window closes on 1 September, despite spending £85m on Andre Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa.

The club have less than three weeks to complete further business, and manager Carrick insists United must continue looking for ways to improve their options.

“We are very pleased with the players we have brought in, and that is the most important thing first and foremost,” Carrick said during Manchester United’s pre-season training camp in County Kildare, Ireland.

“I think we have improved the group and improved the team in different ways, in terms of balance, quality and the direction we want to go in. I think we have made some very good signings and already got some really, really, really good players in. So we are pleased with that.”

Carrick added that United’s recruitment work would not stop.

“We always want to improve, and we want, you know, more, and we need more. We keep looking at how we can do that, and that never stops. We are aware of that, and we have to keep pushing.”

United have been strongly linked with a new left-back, with Newcastle player Lewis Hall among the names being considered.

Sources told ESPN that the club are also examining whether to add a third midfielder. That area has become a concern following Casemiro’s departure and a knee ligament injury suffered by Manuel Ugarte, which is expected to keep the Uruguay international out for most of the season.

“There are one or two positions we would like to improve, and we feel there is a possibility to do that,” Carrick said.

However, he declined to specify how many more players he expected United to sign during the next 18 days.

“But again, it has to be something we can do that makes us better and improves the group, whether that is through quality or adding more depth. That is something we have to manage. That is very clear.”

United’s net spending this summer is understood to be about £30m, with money coming in from Rasmus Højlund’s permanent move to Napoli, Radek Vitek’s transfer to Middlesbrough and a sell-on clause being triggered after Mason Greenwood moved from Marseille to Fenerbahce.

Sources close to Manchester United insist funds remain available during the final weeks of the window. The club were financially capable of matching Tottenham’s £85m offer for Matheus Fernandes before deciding not to pursue the deal.

Tottenham have since also spent money to sign Sandro Tonali, leaving Manchester United as the only one of the traditional ‘big six’ clubs not to have spent £100m on a single player.

Carrick acknowledged that United may need to find a different way to compete with clubs such as Arsenal and Manchester City.

“Money is money, and I understand that… but it is still about football, and that is where the competition lies,” he said.

“We feel we have to compete for everything we are involved in, while recognising certain things and being realistic about what the recent history has been as well. That takes a period of time, but at the same time, the confidence we have gained over the past few months, and what we have achieved in the league, matters.”

“There are lots of things that go into it, but the situation is what it is as well, whether that is financially or anything else. At the moment, we have to make the most of it, but we have to keep pushing, really, and push everything as far as we possibly can in every area we can so we can win again. That is the foundation.”

Carrick concluded: “We are absolutely clear in our message that we need to keep pushing. There are some things we want to try to do, but it has to be right as well.”