{"id":411888,"date":"2026-01-14T08:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T08:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/411888\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T08:17:10","slug":"michael-carrick-latest-manchester-united-boss-on-adjusting-as-january-transfer-window-plans-hinted-at","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/411888\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Carrick latest: Manchester United boss on &#8220;adjusting&#8221; as January transfer window plans hinted at"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/football\/man-utd\/\" title=\"Manchester United\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manchester United<\/a> interim head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/michael-carrick\/\" title=\"Michael Carrick\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Carrick<\/a> has argued that he already has incredible talent in his squad, as well as at academy levels.<\/p>\n<p>After much speculation amongst the media and fanbase, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/football\/man-utd\/news\/carrick-reaches-agreement-over-man-utd-job-with-ex-england-coach-set-to-join-him-at-old-trafford_589754.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">United settled on Carrick as the replacement<\/a> for sacked boss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/ruben-amorim\/\" title=\"Ruben Amorim\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ruben Amorim<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Though the former Middlesbrough manager has only been appointed until the end of the season, supporters are still keen for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/football\/man-utd\/transfer-talk\/news\/man-utd-draw-up-midfield-shortlist-as-january-transfer-decision-revealed_589773.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">head coach&#8217;s squad to be reinforced this January<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Red Devils boss may have hinted that the club could instead rely on the players already at Old Trafford for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to the <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/4rVMKsp8MkiV9U4qM16Pot?si=MaqN7-BVSEyPegoaE_2n1Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Inside Carrington<\/a> podcast, Carrick expressed his view that there is talent throughout his squad, saying: &#8220;I think there\u2019s a lot of talent in there, I think there\u2019s a lot of ability, good number of younger players who are finding their way, and learning what it feels like to play here.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s an important thing \u2013 it\u2019s difficult to put a gauge on but there\u2019s certainly a feeling of it\u2019s an unbelievable place to play football but it can sometimes take a little bit of adjusting, getting used to and that\u2019s fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was the same for all of us, even when we had really, really successful teams \u2013 there\u2019s an adjustment, an adaptation \u2013 that\u2019s for me and my staff to help them go through that, shape them and have a big end to the season.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>United are yet to make an addition this winter, and there is a risk that they could fall further behind the likes of Liverpool in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-img-id=\"154078\" class=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/uploads\/2025\/11\/imago1061643389-69087d41f2c266.webp\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Imago \/ Sportsphoto<\/p>\n<p>What can Carrick do to improve Manchester United?<\/p>\n<p>Amorim was heavily criticised for his use of the young talent within his squad, especially as he often left <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/kobbie-mainoo\/\" title=\"Kobbie Mainoo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kobbie Mainoo<\/a> out of the starting XI.<\/p>\n<p>Starting the midfielder would mean that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/bruno-fernandes\/\" title=\"Bruno Fernandes\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bruno Fernandes<\/a> would be pushed further forward into an advanced position, where his creative talents might help the team more effectively break down low blocks.<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that Carrick will also benefit from the return of both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/amad-diallo\/\" title=\"Amad Diallo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amad Diallo<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/bryan-mbeumo\/\" title=\"Bryan Mbeumo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bryan Mbeumo<\/a> from the Africa Cup of Nations, though it remains to be seen if he can get the best out of them.<\/p>\n<p>The form of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/matheus-cunha\/\" title=\"Matheus Cunha\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Matheus Cunha<\/a> has been concerning given he has failed to score in 16 of his 20 games for the club, while only providing two assists.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps easing the pressure on him to be a match winner by rotating him with Fernandes would help the Brazilian settle into life at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-img-id=\"156635\" class=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/uploads\/2026\/01\/kobbie-mainoo-6963f66b4d8c5890.webp\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Imago \/ Pro Sports Images<\/p>\n<p>Champions League race: Can Manchester United finish in top four?<\/p>\n<p>The Red Devils are currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/football\/premier-league\/table.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">seventh in the Premier League<\/a> with 32 points, three fewer than fourth-placed Liverpool, who are unbeaten in their past 11 games.<\/p>\n<p>Though Carrick could make improvements to the team by making tweaks to the team&#8217;s formation, playing style and starting lineups, it is difficult to see his side finishing in the top four without January signings.<\/p>\n<p>Midfielders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/casemiro\/\" title=\"Casemiro\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Casemiro<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/manuel-ugarte\/\" title=\"Manuel Ugarte\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manuel Ugarte<\/a> have routinely failed to impress, but bringing in someone like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/carlos-baleba\/\" title=\"Carlos Baleba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Carlos Baleba<\/a> from Brighton &amp; Hove Albion could prove financially challenging.<\/p>\n<p>An alternative capable of starting in the short term and filling a squad role next season would be sensible, though clubs like Everton may be reluctant to sell stars such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsmole.co.uk\/people\/james-garner\/\" title=\"James Garner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">James Garner<\/a> in the middle of the current campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United interim head coach Michael Carrick has argued that he already has incredible talent in his squad,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,784,10019,596,813,755,593,10018,1614,760,588,85,10021,10020,747],"class_list":["post-411888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-epl","tag-football","tag-formula-1","tag-golf","tag-nfl","tag-olympics","tag-premier-league","tag-rugby","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-sports-mole","tag-teams","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}