Carrick confirms Man United will pursue January signings after Martinez squad criticism

Michael Carrick has confirmed Manchester United will seek reinforcements in January, responding publicly for the first time to Lisandro Martinez’s outspoken criticism of the club’s recruitment following a 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Pablo Barrios and Ademola Lookman scored to hand Carrick’s side a third loss in five matches in Madrid, prompting Martinez to publicly call out United’s hierarchy for their failure to provide sufficient depth to compete on multiple fronts. The Argentine was subsequently fined and held a clear-the-air meeting with Carrick and club officials on Thursday.

“When the next transfer window comes, you want to plan and you want to make the best of it,” Carrick said. “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.”

Martinez issued an apology within 48 hours of his post-match comments, and Carrick was keen to draw a line under the episode ahead of Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Leeds United, for which the defender remains available for selection.

“There’s a lot of people saying a lot of things,” Carrick said. “The players totally believe me. Just because people talk on the outside doesn’t make it the truth. I am telling you the truth.”

Carrick insisted the dressing room had responded well to the turbulent week. “The squad on Friday was in a fantastic place, better than I’ve seen it for a while, actually,” he said. “As a group we’ve moved on. It’s really not a drama for the group. Licha understood he made a mistake. We have a really good feeling from the club. We can see in the group we want to do something with this situation.”

The United head coach acknowledged the difficulty of the position but maintained the squad’s collective spirit had not been damaged. “There is a freshness about the group,” he added. “Genuinely. We’ve moved on.”