Michael Carrick has admitted Manchester United still need to strengthen this summer but they will not be splashing the cash on the level of their Premier League rivals.
United have so far spent around £85m on Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow, but after another big summer of spending elsewhere they are the only one of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ still never to have broken the £100m mark on a player.
United need to build depth ahead of a return to the Champions League, and their midfield reinforcements come after Casemiro’s exit.
“I think we’ve done really good business and we’ve got really some top, top, top players,” Carrick said at United’s pre-season training camp in the Republic of Ireland.
“We’re delighted with that. We always want to improve. We want more, we need more, we keep looking for how we can do that. That never stops.”
But United are trying to keep pace as Chelsea have spent £117m on Morgan Rogers, cross-city rivals City signed Elliot Anderson for £116m and Tottenham brought in Sandro Tonali in a deal that could rise to £100m.
“Money’s money, I get that,” Carrick said. “It’s still about the football, and that’s where the competition lies.
“Certainly the situation is what it is as well, whether that’s finances or whatever. For now, we’ve got to make the most of it, but we’ve got to keep pushing and push everything and every boundary that we can to be able to win again.”
When asked why United were not spending on the level of other clubs, Carrick added: “To be honest, I haven’t got the answers for that. We’re working with pushing everything that we can to make the best of it.”
Marcus Rashford is back with United this week after returning from the World Cup. Earlier this summer Barcelona declined their option to buy the England winger following last season’s loan, and questions remain over his future despite Carrick talking up his reintegration.
When asked directly if the 28-year-old was for sale, Carrick said: “He’s our player, and he’s a good player and he gives us something a little bit different in the group.
“Marcus can offer us so much. He has done, and he can do again, so in that respect it’s quite exciting.”
This summer a number of Carrick’s players have expressed belief they can challenge for what would be a 21st league title, and first since 2013, next term. While that is music to the ears of the manager, he was not so forceful himself.
“We’ve definitely got the potential to achieve something really special,” he said. “I’m not hiding from the fact, and we should aim to do that, but I can’t give you a definite answer on that. It’s certainly what we’re pushing to do because we have to, because that’s the club we are.”
Carrick took the job on an interim basis in January following Ruben Amorim’s exit, but signed a two-year contract in May. The 45-year-old insisted he was not worried as to whether a longer-term deal meant he might now be judged differently.
“I’m not fussed,” he said. “Doesn’t bother me anyway. I’m just going about trying to win and trying to do the right thing for the football club.”