Sir Alex Ferguson will turn 85 on New Year’s Eve. Which, apart from a cause for celebration for many in the Manchester United family, could seem a reflection of failure if this season follows the 13 that went before. United have not mustered a proper title challenge since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 and, in most cases, it has been evident by the end of December that they would not become champions for a 21st time.
They can look at one table to imagine this year will be a break with the recent past: the Carrick table. After Michael Carrick’s return to Old Trafford in January, they played 17 games and took 39 points: three more than Arsenal, four better than Manchester City, some 14 more than Liverpool, a massive 18 clear of Chelsea. United could say they were the best team in the league for half a season, albeit when the stakes only involved Champions League qualification and when their peers’ calendars were crowded by European and cup games.
Carrick’s catalytic return has earned him a longer contract, even if it is for just two years, hinting at doubts that Ferguson’s former midfielder is really a worthy heir. Carrick’s job changes now; United could go from playing 40 matches in a season to 60, to having almost every midweek off to games in virtually all. Given the financial importance of Champions League qualification to United, his employers might settle for simply being in the premier European competition, and its latter stages, again next year. Project 150, chief executive Omar Berrada’s aim of making United champions again by 2028, may be quietly parked.
United’s fame has outstripped their achievements for too much of the post-Ferguson years. Carrick has been an antidote to that – to Ruben Amorim’s quotable brand of failure, in particular – but if he is a quiet man, United seem to have had too quiet a summer. This year, unlike many others, they are nowhere near the top of the spending charts. That may be a sign they are paying a price for past outlay, lacking the funds to compete. Tottenham seemed to take United out of the reckoning by paying £85m for Mateus Fernandes; City did likewise with their record £116m bid for Elliot Anderson.
So two of their targets eluded them. It is hard to escape the sense that United are ending up with players nearer the bottom of their shortlist than the top. Yet Youri Tielemans is a terrific player and, due to the £35m release clause in his Aston Villa contract, joined for a very reasonable price. Andrey Santos cost more, at £48m, and was ultimately only Chelsea’s third-choice central midfielder last season. Perhaps Carrick can school the Brazilian to improve in the position he played, but United’s midfield options look far inferior to Arsenal’s.
And, when it was long apparent this summer required a midfield overhaul, one concern is that, so far, United have got too few arrivals; two, when they needed three, leaving them reliant on the injury-prone Mason Mount’s fitness. Another is that they may not have really replaced Casemiro; the veteran was a charismatic goalscorer last season but his day job was as the defensive midfielder, and United may not have one.
Like Casemiro, Luke Shaw benefited from the reduced workload last season, becoming a Premier League ever-present, but United could do with adding another left-back. A lack of signings could be a consequence of too few sales, with injury meaning they cannot cash in on Manuel Ugarte, while Andre Onana has only gone out on loan again. Barcelona did not buy Marcus Rashford, but after Amorim exiled the Mancunian, Carrick’s deft brand of man-management could allow him to resume his Old Trafford career. Certainly United are unlikely to sign a forward of his ability for the price he would command in the transfer market, and a high-quality left winger would benefit them.
United have tried to present themselves as smarter traders since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over. Last summer brought one remarkably good signing, in goalkeeper Senne Lammens, before a high-profile error for Belgium at the World Cup. Their three attacking additions could all be deemed qualified successes, each getting double figures of top-flight goals, though United arguably paid over the odds in committing around £200m for Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. They could do with one kicking on to become one of the outstanding individuals in the division.
As it is, United only definitely have one who belongs in that category, in captain Bruno Fernandes. His Footballer of the Year award was a reward for a record, with 21 Premier League assists last season, and perhaps a reflection of excellence since 2020 even if, like United, he was arguably only terrific for half of the 2025-26 campaign.
But Fernandes has always shouldered a huge burden; at times, his has been a valiant damage-limitation job. Now, having gone from finishing 15th to third in a year, United can feel the worst is behind them. Going from third to first will nevertheless be harder.
And if the second half of last season offered optimism aplenty, the summer, including a pre-season defeat to Amorim’s AC Milan, has brought rather less. Carrick is sufficiently realistic that he is scarcely a man who requires reality checks. United, for all their triumphs under Ferguson, have not mustered back-to-back top-four finishes since 2021, when Carrick was on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff, and have only done so once since Ferguson retired. Even finishing fourth, then, would be a feat for Carrick.