Manchester United's pre-season picture has changed quickly. Four senior players are back or due back this week, and only three named absentees are expected to miss the PSG game, which leaves Michael Carrick with a much fuller squad than he had at the start of the build-up.
Carrick said the squad is “starting to take shape” ahead of 2026/27, and that is a fair read of where things stand. Senne Lammens and Youri Tielemans returned earlier than expected at the end of last week and joined first-team training on Monday. Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Noussair Mazraoui are due back this week.
Carrick's selection choices
The return of those players matters because Carrick is no longer filling the side with placeholders. He wants Fernandes back in the No. 10 role, with Mason Mount, Andrey Santos and Tielemans competing for the two deeper midfield spots. His suggested strongest XI against PSG is Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Fernandes, Santos, Mount; Mbeumo, Cunha, Dorgu.
There is still some absence to account for. Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez are expected to miss the PSG game, which is why the build-up has not become a full-strength exercise yet. But the gap between the first weeks of pre-season and this week is obvious, and the squad now looks close enough to let Carrick pick something near his best side.
United go into the game on a five-match unbeaten run in the league, with four wins and one draw in their last five Premier League matches. That is the platform Carrick is working from, and the next step is simply whether the returning players are ready to make the PSG selection debate a real one rather than a patch-up job.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
