Michael Carrick has confirmed that one of Manchester United’s outcasts will play a big part for the team in the remainder of the season.
Manchester United have put themselves in a strong position under Michael Carrick after recording three successive wins over Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.
Those victories have firmly propelled the Reds into the top-four conversation, aided by the advantage of a lighter schedule following their absence from European competition.
The squad appears revitalised after the managerial change. Under Ruben Amorim, doubts often surfaced over whether the players were suited to his tactical approach.
In contrast, there is now a clear sense of cohesion, with Carrick seemingly unlocking the best from several of United’s key figures.
Carrick confirms United outcast will play a ‘big part’ for the rest of the season
Carrick has only made one change to his lineup over his first three games and it was partly down to injury. Patrick Dorgu being replaced by Matheus Cunha has been the only adjustment so far.
But the United boss has not been shy in making substitutions. He has used 11 of the possible 15 substitutions across those fixtures and three of those have been directly involved in goals scored.
Manuel Ugarte has also come on for Casemiro in the wins over Man City and Fulham, but he has not impressed as much. There are reports that the club will look to sell the ex-PSG midfielder in the summer.
But Carrick is still trusting him for the rest of the season and believes that Ugarte can play a ‘big part’ in United’s success for the remainder of the season.
“We’ve got a really good balance of the squad in general. So, there’s plenty of solutions for us,” Carrick stated when asked about the midfield depth.
“Manu [Ugarte] has obviously come on [in recent games] and he’s going to be a big part of our squad and our team between now and the end of the season, sharing the load.
“We’ve got different things we can do, it depends what happens. We’ve got to be able to adapt and be flexible but I’m confident we can find the right solutions if we need to. At the moment, we’re pretty stable and in good shape.”
Ugarte must change one thing
While Ugarte is unlikely to start much for Carrick’s side in the back-end of the season, he will probably be making regular appearances off the bench.
Casemiro has only completed 90 minutes in six of his 22 appearances in the Premier League so far this season and that trend is unlikely to change.
But too often the team has leaked goals when Ugarte has replaced Casemiro. The Urugauyan will need to improve his levels if he is to have an important role off the bench.
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The most important thing is the protection of the back four, and while he can clearly press well across the pitch, Carrick will want him covering that space instead of running around.
If he can do that then the 25-year-old could play an important part for the Reds in the remaining games, although it still feels like his future will be in the air when the summer window comes around.
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