€173m later, Man Utd's midfield transfer gamble has backfired on Carrick again
Michael Carrick has come under much scrutiny in recent weeks but Manchester United’s summer business has, once again, been shown to have been a complete disaster after the latest twist in a brutal season at Old Trafford.
United finally ended a nine-game run without a win by recording a dramatic 3-2 turnaround victory in the Champions League at home to Roma in a match they were losing 2-0 at half-time.
Carrick had been hoping that the result would mark a change in fortunes for United but his side suffered a blow in the 51st minute when €76 million summer signing Carlos Baleba was forced off with a hamstring injury that the coach said ‘didn’t look great’.
Baleba arrived at United already nursing an ankle injury and the 22-year-old only made his debut three weeks ago before picking up this latest issue to leave Carrick’s squad even more short-staffed.
United only looked to sign midfielders in the summer, with Baleba being touted as the marquee arrival between him, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans in the hopes of revamping the options available to Carrick.
But, with Tielemans proving flawed, Santos hardly featuring and Baleba perpetually injured, United’s transfer business has again come under the spotlight after scrutiny from senior players and onlookers.
Summer transfer busienss proves Man Utd are the most dysfunctional club in the Premier League
Only Tottenham have a higher net spend than United in the last five seasons but the club have had little success or quality to show despite more than €770m being splashed out.
Baleba is arguably considered United’s most important midfielder, hence the significant outlay, with no other player in the squad capable of matching his athleticism and physicality.
Having already tried to sign Baleba one year ago, United were convinced to move for him again this summer, even though he arrived with an ankle problem that saw him miss most of pre-season.
The club previously have had issues with similar signings, having bought Mason Mount for €67m from Chelsea in 2023 despite his long list of injuries, which has seen him make just 55 Premier League appearances in his time at Old Trafford.
While Baleba had a clean injury record prior to his ankle issue, the optics do not look good for a club like United, who were already under immense pressure to make the most of their summer transfer business.
Having seen defender Lisandro Martinez publicly criticise the board for their poor investment, United’s midfield still looks no closer to being solved even with their €173m summer outlay.
Of course, Carrick will be left to pick up the pieces of a broken recruitment strategy like so many managers before him and United will again be made a laughing stock if their deals continue to backfire.
United will hope that Baleba’s issue is not serious but their fans will be forgiven for fearing that the Cameroonian will never play for the club again, if their recent luck and fortune is anything to go by.
Instead, United will host Aston Villa this weekend in a crucial match before a make-or-break international week that could spell the end of Carrick’s tenure and leave even more issues to solve for the Premier League’s most dysfunctional club.
