Manchester United are preparing to explore January signings as Michael Carrick plans the next stage of a defensive rebuild at Old Trafford.
The head coach has indicated that the club will assess opportunities in the winter window, with centre-back and left-back among the positions under consideration. United’s lack of defensive depth has been exposed by Luke Shaw’s injury, which has left youngster Ayden Heaven deputising out of position at left-back.
“When the next transfer window comes, you want to plan and you want to make the best of it,” Carrick said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Leeds.
“Whatever that looks like at this stage, we don’t quite know. But without doubt, there’s opportunity because the transfer window is open.
“So we’ll definitely be looking at that and trying to come out stronger in whatever way that looks like.”
Manchester United’s defensive rebuild
United concentrated on midfield during the summer, signing Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba for a combined £155 million. They did not address the shortage of options at left-back or up front.
Gary Neville has said Carrick was left short in defence after the window, while the club had previously explored possible long-term replacements for Shaw, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
England international Lewis Hall was United’s main focus at left-back, but Newcastle made clear that he was not available and he has since signed a long-term deal with the club.
There are also questions over Lisandro Martinez’s future. The Argentina international’s contract expires at the end of the season, although United hold an option to extend it by a further year.
Martinez publicly criticised the club’s lack of investment in the summer, prompting an apology for the timing and public nature of his comments, but not for the views he expressed. Carrick said the matter had been resolved internally.
The intervention came as Carrick faced growing pressure following four defeats in United’s opening nine matches and a five-game winless run. The club are in the bottom half of the Premier League table after six games.
United’s last visit to Elland Road brought the end of Ruben Amorim’s tenure, but Carrick said he believed he would be given time to develop the team.
“I do, yeah. But it’s not something that I think about,” he said. “I’m here to win football matches, but winning football matches short term with an eye on developing the club and pushing the club to be great.”
Carrick also acknowledged the frustration among supporters, saying: “I’ve got frustrations about not getting the right results. The players have got frustrations about not getting the right results.”
He insisted the club remained focused on returning to the top, despite having not won the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in 2013.
“We’re striving to get back to the top,” Carrick said. “We’ve had a bit of a spell when we haven’t quite been there. For all of us, we’re striving to get to the top and we’re building.”
