Manchester United’s much-hyped midfield revamp has not worked out so far, with Michael Carrick paying the ultimate price.
It has since been reported that former head coach Michael Carrick did not want any of Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans or Carlos Baleba.
However, INEOS reportedly forced the trio on him, and results have been on a steady downward trajectory ever since, with a lack of physicality and recovery pace a major concern in United’s engine room.
The Athletic has revealed that both the Brazilian and Belgian were seventh and eighth choices at best, with the former head coach asking for vastly different names in the summer.
INEOS failed to deliver in the summer
“Carrick understood the financial limitations, but the midfield additions they did make were seventh or eighth on United’s list, when considering No. 1 was Elliot Anderson, followed by Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Alex Scott, Ederson and Ayyoub Bouaddi.
“United signed Tielemans for £35m and he has been the only addition to feature regularly. Baleba’s hamstring injury sustained against Roma is set to keep him out for several weeks. Santos, 22, was on the periphery of Chelsea’s team last season, but United paid £50m for him.”
| Stat | Premier League | UEFA Champions League | League Cup | All competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | 9 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
| Minutes | 658 | 240 | 90 | 988 |
| Goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Assists | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Even more interestingly, the 20-time English league champions were not initially keen on signing the former Aston Villa ace.
They preferred former Bayern Munich defensive midfielder Leon Goretzka, but eventually opted to trigger Youri Tielemans’ £35 million release clause.
Youri Tielemans was not United’s first choice
Incidentally, the German ended up moving to Villa Park and, while it has been a slow start to life in England, he did score against United at Old Trafford last week.
“It can be revealed that United gave serious consideration to signing Leon Goretzka as a free agent instead of Tielemans.
“Goretzka left Bayern Munich in June but commanded significant wages and will be 32 in February. Goretzka instead went to Villa and scored at Old Trafford in Carrick’s last game.”
The Peoples Person has relayed that INEOS are aware they grossly overpaid for Santos, highlighting how flawed the recruitment was.
Now Mauricio Pochettino is in the hot seat, and he will be desperate for backing in January if he is to guide United back into Europe.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
