Carrick dismisses Anderson's 'Kings of Manchester' jibe ahead of Old Trafford derby

Michael Carrick has rejected Elliot Anderson’s claim that Manchester City are the ‘kings of Manchester’, ahead of Sunday’s Premier League derby at Old Trafford — the first meeting between the clubs since Anderson chose the Etihad over a move to United this summer.

Anderson, a £116m signing from Nottingham Forest, made his feelings clear in an interview on City’s official website, stating that the Blues had held the upper hand in the fixture ‘for as long as I’ve known’. The remark landed with a thud across town, where United are still rebuilding under Carrick after years of underperformance in the fixture.

‘I’m definitely not using that phrase at all, no,’ Carrick said when Anderson’s comment was put to him directly. But the United head coach was careful not to dismiss the broader reality, acknowledging the shift in the balance of power while insisting his side are moving in the right direction.

‘I understand it,’ Carrick added. ‘We’re in the Champions League — that in itself shows the steps we’ve made, and we need to be in the later stages of that. We know where we’ve come from in recent history, and we need to, and we want to be better, and we want to be challenging more. It doesn’t mean that we can’t and we won’t. We still hope, we believe, and we expect that we can be and we should be.’

The subplot surrounding Anderson sharpens the edge of Sunday’s fixture considerably. United had identified the England international as their top midfield target this summer, and he impressed on his last visit to Old Trafford when he shone for Nottingham Forest late in the previous campaign. Ultimately, his £116m price tag proved prohibitive for a club that had to rebuild its midfield on a tighter budget — and Anderson had already made his preference for City clear.

Carrick, who won 17 of his 31 derbies as a United player and lost just three, opened his managerial account against Pep Guardiola’s side in January. He is under no illusions about how the fixture has shifted since his playing days, but the tone of his response suggests he has no intention of conceding the psychological ground before a ball is kicked.

Anderson’s arrival is part of a sweeping £326m midfield rebuild at City that also includes Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi. United, by contrast, spent £155m on three midfielders of their own. How those competing visions play out on Sunday will offer an early verdict on where both clubs genuinely stand.