Michael Carrick says Manchester United have done good business this summer, but he is not pretending the squad is finished. At the club’s pre-season training camp in the Republic of Ireland, he praised arrivals Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow while making clear there is still work to do.

“I think we've done really good business and we've got really some top, top, top players”

United's summer spending

The spending figure being discussed is around £85 million, and it sits inside a wider reality Carrick did not duck. Manchester United remain the only Premier League big-six side never to have broken the £100 million threshold on a single player, and that gap to their richer rivals is part of the conversation around this window.

Carrick was also plain about the limits of the club’s reach. “Money's money, I get that. It's still about the football, and that's where the competition lies,” he said. That is the stronger line here, because it frames the summer as a football decision as much as a financial one. United finished last season third with 71 points and 20 wins in 38 games, so this is not a squad starting from nowhere, but it still looks like a group that can be improved.

Rashford and the rest of pre-season

Carrick also sounded upbeat about Marcus Rashford’s place in the squad after Barcelona opted against exercising their option to buy him following last season’s loan. “He's our player, and he's a good player and he gives us something a little bit different in the group. Marcus can offer us so much. He has done, and he can do again, so in that respect it's quite exciting,” he said.

There is a bigger comfort blanket around the camp too. Steve Holland said United spent four straight weeks at Carrington before travelling out for games, with the staff in control of the facilities, the pitch and recovery. Holland added that the setup has given them “the best possible chance” of being ready for the start.

That matters because United open the season with Hull City away, Ipswich at home and Everton away, a run that gives Carrick a chance to make the summer look stronger on the pitch quickly.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →