Two key men have returned to Manchester as another surprise player has joined Michael Carrick’s first training session ahead of the Manchester derby.
After five years away from the club, Michael Carrick has returned to Manchester United as the caretaker manager till the end of the season.
A ‘new manager’ bounce could not be more vital with Carrick being given a trial by fire with his first game as United boss being against Manchester City, then against Arsenal at the Emirates.
With only three days to prepare for the start of a run-in, the Manchester United legend does not have long to instil his ideal tactics into the team.
With the club one point behind fifth-place Brentford and three points behind fourth-place Liverpool, United are firmly in the race for Champions League football, so they cannot afford to drop any points.
However, Carrick has received a significant boost from the players who have recently returned to training.
Ogunneye, Amad and Mbeumo are all back
Following Cameroon’s and the Ivory Coast’s exit from AFCON, both Bryan Mbeumo and Amad have returned to England and joined the Manchester United squad.
Their return provided a massive boost for Carrick, with them both arguably being United’s most important attackers before their international call-ups. As seen in the run of games without them, there is an added level of creativity and risk that is missing when they are not in the side.
Furthermore, Habeeb Ogunneye has been spotted alongside Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher and Shea Lacey in the first-team training session ahead of the derby.
The young full-back had initally spend the season on loan at League Two side Newport County, making 20 appearances and scoring one goal. However, with minutes being hard to come by due to the sacking of manager David Hughes (former Manchester U-21 assistant coach), he has since returned to the club.
With Noussair Mazaroui still at AFCON, he could be seen as the deputy right-back behind Diogo Dalot, with Patrick Dorgu and Luke Shaw competing for the left-back spot.
Returns were much needed
The return of Amad and Mbeumo is a welcome boost ahead of the Derby. During the final games of Ruben Amorim, and especially against Brighton under Darren Fletcher, United looked toothless.
While the systems did not help, especially in the case of Amorim, the club’s lack of creativity and ability to unlock defences was of great concern. Especially as the Red Devils face the league’s top two teams, United’s lack of creativity will be punished.
Furthermore, one positive from the Brighton game is the return of Harry Maguire. He has been a standout defender this season, and another player United have sorely missed, so his return for this run-in is also vital both defensively and as a set-piece threat.
Either way, there is no sugarcoating that Carrick’s side will be going into both games as major underdogs, which could be a positive for the interim manager to create an ‘us vs the world’ mentality.
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