Michael Carrick will already be thinking about his best possible Manchester United starting XI as he takes over at Old Trafford as caretaker head coach.
Manchester United have appointed Michael Carrick as interim head coach for the remainder of the season following the departure of Rúben Amorim last week.
Amorim was dismissed after a 1–1 draw with Leeds United, with reports indicating a breakdown in relations between the Portuguese coach and senior figures at Old Trafford. The club then opted for a caretaker appointment while plans are made to recruit a permanent manager in the summer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær had initially emerged as the frontrunner, with Director of Football Jason Wilcox believed to view the Norwegian as the strongest candidate based on his previous experience at the club. However, Carrick impressed during discussions and was ultimately chosen to take charge.
The 44-year-old will begin his spell with a high-profile Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, before United travel to Arsenal for a demanding away fixture.
Carrick’s best XI has one difficult decision
After 14 months of Amorim’s back-three at United, Carrick will almost certainly be setting the side back up in a more well-versed 4-2-3-1 formation, similar to how his sides set up against Middlesbrough.
The goalkeeper will remain Senne Lammens, who will be asked to do much more ball-to-foot work, while the defensive line will most likely consist of Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martínez, and possibly Luke Shaw.
Carrick often likes three of his back four to tuck in and defend while one of his full-backs pushes high. In this case, both of United’s left-backs, Shaw and Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, are great at pushing up the field, which would mean the right-back would be the player to tuck in with the defensive line.
In that case, Mazraoui would be the much better option for this role than Diogo Dalot, who has been “terrible“ of late, including missing key chances in attack against Brighton, and is not as reliable defensively as the Morocco international.
As for the midfield, the big question surrounds Kobbie Mainoo. In recent interviews, Carrick has stated he sees Mainoo as a more attacking player who plays ahead of the defensive midfielder.
With this in mind, it’s likely the Carrick would start Mainoo alongside Casemiro, with the former given freedom to roam forward and combine with those ahead of him. As for the attacking midfielder, club captain Bruno Fernandes will almost certainly return to his natural position.
The front three is where Carrick will have to make a difficult choice. United have four brilliant attacking options in Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško, and Matheus Cunha, but only three can make the starting team.
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Carrick likes his wingers to be able to operate in the channels and, when needed, hold their width. Earlier this season, Mbeumo and Amad operated as left and right wingers respectively, and this may be the English boss’ most favourite pairing during the early games of his short tenure.
Cunha is another option for the left flank, although he is also fantastic centrally, so he may instead fight with Šeško for the striker position, although the Brazilian could end up finding himself on the bench to start with.
Ultimately, Carrick has Mbeumo and Cunha for the left flank, Cunha and Šeško as options up front, Mbeumo and Amad as options on the right, and Cunha and Fernandes as attacking midfielders who can play off the striker. It’s not a bad problem to have.
Carrick’s best United XI
Lammens, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martínez, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Amad, Fernandes, Mbeumo, Šeško.
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