Michael Carrick’s first pre-season as Manchester United head coach begins at Carrington on Thursday, but the opening day will be defined as much by who is missing as by who is back. The club have several senior players available on day one or expected back early, yet the squad is still without a chunk of familiar faces and without new signing Ederson.

Carrington's opening group

Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are among the senior players available on day one or expected back early, which at least gives Carrick some experienced bodies to work with. The rest of the early sessions will still lean on a mixed group of returning players, youngsters and those coming back on different schedules.

The biggest delay is Ederson. United agreed a fee of £35million, plus £3.8million in add-ons, to sign him from Atalanta, but he was a late call-up for the Brazil squad and will not be present at the start of pre-season training. Michael Carrick said, “That means no new signings will be present for the start of pre-season training as United continue to try and strengthen Carrick's squad ahead of the new campaign.”

That leaves the first week looking more like an organisation phase than a full reset. United finished third in the Premier League, on 71 points and with 69 league goals, so the work is not about rescuing a broken side. It is about getting enough of the group on the grass together quickly enough to build rhythm before the trip to Finland.

The first friendly is already close

The first pre-season friendly is against Wrexham in Helsinki on Saturday, July 18. That is early enough to keep the opening sessions focused on fitness, structure and getting the available senior players up to speed.

Matthijs de Ligt is continuing rehabilitation from back surgery, and Manuel Ugarte faces a lengthy spell out after a suspected ACL injury at the World Cup with Uruguay. Those absences, plus Ederson's late Brazil call-up, mean Carrick's first week is about managing availability before anything else.

The main headline is simple enough: United are back at Carrington on Thursday, but the picture is incomplete. Carrick starts with a strong core, a few key injuries and one new signing still waiting to join in.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →