Man Utd Accused Of Failing To Back Carrick After Deciding Against Sanctioning Transfer For Fernandes Alternative
Ex-Man Utd striker Louis Saha claims that his former club needed to sign an upgrade for Mason Mount during the summer transfer window.
Speaking to Betano (quotes via Metro), Saha said the Red Devils should have backed Michael Carrick more strongly in the transfer market and brought in a player who could take some of the workload off captain Bruno Fernandes:
“Manchester United could have signed another playmaker to play as the second striker or a more creative midfielder who is a better option than Mason Mount to replace him He is another good player but he is not someone who is going to accelerate a game for Manchester United.”
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“He has been very unfortunate with injuries, but he has never shown me that he is that kind of player who, in hot moments, is going to take the pressure and responsibility alongside Bruno Fernandes. Did Manchester United fail Michael Carrick in the transfer market? There is a bit of that going on.”
Fernandes has been playing through an injury
Speaking earlier this week, Portugal boss Jorge Jesus said that United’s captain has been playing with “pain for the last three games”.
Fernandes did feature in his country’s 1-0 win over Wales, but he was left out of the side that beat Norway 2-1 on Sunday evening – in a bid to aid his recovery.
The fact that the midfielder was picked to start against Manchester City and Fulham despite not being 100% fit indicates that Carrick was reluctant to bench him in favour of Mount, which suggests he doesn’t fully trust the former Chelsea midfielder.
Latest Man Utd injury news
Fernandes is not the only player who has suffered from fitness issues whilst on international duty. Patrick Dorgu sustained a hamstring injury in Denmark’s win over Wales.
Kobbie Mainoo (knock), Marcus Rashford (groin), Karl Darlow (knock) and Benjamin Sesko (shin) withdrew from their respective squads, while Amad (ankle), Tom Heaton (hamstring), Matthijs de Ligt (back) and Manuel Ugarte (knee) remain on the sidelines.