Michael Carrick has been utterly perfect since taking charge of Manchester United in January, but his arrival has impacted a handful of players’ minutes.
Playing time this season has been limited anyway, given Manchester United aren’t in Europe and were knocked out of both cup competitions at the first time of asking.
However, this was no excuse for Ruben Amorim’s poor handling of Kobbie Mainoo, who barely played despite evidently being one of the best players at the club.
There have also been casualties under Michael Carrick, albeit less blatantly, and now the club’s stance on one has been revealed.
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Manchester United are happy for Ayden Heaven to continue out of the spotlight
Under Carrick, the most significant drops in game time have come for the centre-backs with the change in system from three to two.
As a result, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven haven’t played a lot of football since the change in manager, mainly due to Harry Maguire’s incredible form.
Ayden Heaven playing against Wolves
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Carrick has gone for experience at the back to steady the ship, which had been leaking goals, and quite rightly so.
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But Heaven has been brilliant this season, which is surely leading to frustrations over his lack of minutes for United.
However, according to The Athletic, United are happy for Heaven to continue developing on the training pitch right now, aware that his chances of starting another game this term are slim.
United thinks Heaven needs more development before he can be a permanent starter, which is a fair assessment with shaky moments in his good spell for the club.
Ruben Amorim labelled Heaven a ‘leader’ despite being just 19 right now, which suggests he is going to be very important for the club in the future.
The new coaching staff may help Heaven, with Maguire saying Jonathan Woodgate’s one-on-one sessions are beneficial to the young defenders, especially.
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Ayden Heaven will have a huge 2026/27 season for United
Heaven has only played one minute, from the bench, under Carrick so far, and with just 14 games remaining in the campaign, he likely won’t see this improve significantly.
However, the good news is that next season is already very close for United, and Heaven will play a big role.
United look set for European football and potentially Champions League football, which will give the club plenty more games and chances for rotation.
Heaven will have these games, cup games, and potentially league games if he plays himself into a starting role, which should be exciting for the youngster.
So United are right to urge him to knuckle down in training, develop, and be ready for next season. However, he also needs to stay ready, as Maguire and Lisandro Martinez are both unlikely to stay fit.
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