Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has stressed the need for further signings to improve his squad, speaking during the club's pre-season trip to Ireland.
The United boss addressed reporters at Carton House, a five-star spa hotel which has hosted the team all week. His side had overcome Leeds on penalties at Croke Park in a friendly on Wednesday evening, only a few hours earlier.
Carrick arrived with a large smile, having learned that his daughter Louise had collected her A-Level results back home. However, he delivered a crystal clear message to those upstairs regarding the transfer market.
"It can't be for the sake of it, but yeah, of course, we want to improve, we need to improve," Carrick said. "It's something that we're working towards, for sure."
United have so far added Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and reserve goalkeeper Karl Darlow to their first-team squad. They have also signed Tynan Thompson from Tottenham for 8 million pounds, a player viewed as one for the future.
Rivals Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham have all spent more than 100 million pounds this summer. Newly promoted Coventry and Ipswich have also outspent United, who have taken a frugal approach to the window.
They have missed out on top targets including Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers, and have made two failed approaches for Newcastle United left back Lewis Hall. A left back and another central midfielder remain on the agenda.
Transfer market push
"I think we've got a pretty good balance in all when you lay the squad out, but of course we would like more," Carrick said. "We would like more, we need to keep pushing for more."
He referenced the need to push in the market four times during the conversation. Director of football Jason Wilcox is with the team in Ireland and remains in constant communication with the manager.
"There's one or two areas where we'd like to improve and we feel that there's the possibility to improve," Carrick said. "But again, that needs to be something that we can do that makes us better and improves the group, whether that's quality or whether that's a little bit of depth. That's something we've got to manage. That's pretty obvious."
Carrick is pleased with the arrivals so far. "I have to say, Karl, Andrey, and Youri, are exactly what we hoped, exactly what we expected in every way," he said.
"Andrey, for such a young man to come in the way he's come in, his character, his personality is a dream. Literally, he's a dream," he added.
European workload
United face a heavier workload this season as they return to European competition. They could play 15 to 20 more games than the historically low 40 matches they contested last term.
"We're not naive, we know what we're going into," Carrick said of the schedule. "But we feel we're a stronger group now than we were last season as well in many ways, so we've just got to capitalise on that."
Asked if United could contend for the Premier League title, Carrick refused to make bold predictions but insisted the team must aim high.
"I think you've got to have the belief, you've got to be going into the season thinking we can achieve something special," he said.
"Don't be going into a season thinking this could be a struggle. We've got to set out to really achieve something.
"We've definitely got the potential to achieve something really special. I'm not hiding from the fact, and we should aim to do that. I'm not going to make any crazy predictions, but I think on the back of what we've done, I keep saying it, I think that gives us the confidence to move forward. How quickly we keep moving forward, that's the challenge."
Rashford and Mainoo return
Carrick has been boosted by the return of Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez from the World Cup. The trio have added a fresh dynamism to the group.
There are questions over Rashford, who has not played a minute in a United shirt since 2024 after being left out in the cold by Carrick's predecessor Ruben Amorim. United have been open to moving the attacker, who earns 325,000 pounds a week, to reduce their wage bill.
The club have sought a left winger all summer. They targeted Crysencio Summerville before he moved to Saudi Arabia. Barcelona also passed up on their buy option for Rashford.
However, Rashford is now back in training. While Carrick elected not to rule out a potential move before the deadline, he offered praise for the forward.
"He's a very good player, Marcus, and I think if you're going to have a career over 10 or 15 years, there's going to be times when things go in maybe a different direction," Carrick said.
"I think there's ups and downs, and that doesn't judge you as a one-off kind of judgment. It's what happens over time, and now we're in a positive place as a group, and Marcus can offer us so much.
"He has done (in the past), and he can do again, so in that respect, it's quite exciting."
Carrick also backed Mainoo to succeed in the Premier League. The manager kept in touch with the midfielder via text all summer as he went through the World Cup without playing a minute.
"The biggest thing for me, Kobbie's in a really good place," Carrick said. "I think he feels that. He's come back and he's come home and he's ready for a big season."
AC Milan friendly
United face AC Milan in Poland on Saturday. It will be a reunion with Amorim, who now manages the Italian club.
Carrick is viewed as a more level-headed figure than Amorim. Bosses are relaxed that he will not rock the boat in the way his predecessor might have done when facing tough questions.
That calmness is part of the reason United were comfortable throwing open the doors to Amazon filmmakers this season for a behind the scenes All or Nothing documentary. However, despite his relaxed demeanour, Carrick is determined to win.
