Carrick backs United squad despite being outspent by every major Premier League rival

Michael Carrick has defended Manchester United’s summer transfer business, arguing the club have built a stronger squad than last season despite being outspent by every significant Premier League rival.

United committed £148m to three midfielders — Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos — as Casemiro departed, but made no additions at centre-back or left-back. By contrast, Manchester City spent more than £400m, Chelsea and Tottenham each exceeded £300m, and Arsenal, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Liverpool all surpassed £200m.

“We went in wanting to come out stronger from the group that we had last season, and we’ve definitely added to that,” Carrick said. “The players that we’ve brought into the group, I’m delighted with, absolutely delighted with. I think we’ve done some really good business there for the quality and the level of player that we’ve got.”

Carrick was careful to push back on any suggestion that United were financially restricted, insisting the framing missed his point. “I’m not talking about the amount,” he said. “Whatever the amount is, you want to make the most of it. I think for what we’ve spent, we’ve certainly made the most of it, without a shadow of a doubt, if not even more than that because of the players that we’ve brought in.”

One player who will remain at Old Trafford is Joshua Zirkzee, after United rejected an Everton deadline-day loan approach. The Netherlands forward has not featured for a single minute this season and has started just one match under Carrick, yet the manager was emphatic about his value to the squad.

“Josh is important. It’s the team, the squad, the depth, the whole season,” Carrick said. “Josh is happy here and I’ve a really good relationship with Josh anyway. What he wants is to play more than he has done, and that’s the good, the competition and healthy competition for places. Josh can do some really, really top things — I’ve seen it myself, and I know he can do that. I am looking forward to him doing that a little bit more often for us.”

The comments paint a picture of a manager working within tight financial constraints while attempting to project confidence ahead of what promises to be a demanding campaign for a club still rebuilding its identity.