Our senior Manchester United writer Tyrone Marshall answers your questions on the club and what is going on at Old Trafford.
Casemiro, JJ Gabriel and Manuel Ugarte
Casemiro, JJ Gabriel and Manuel Ugarte
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Manchester United kept the momentum rolling this week as Benjamin Sesko scored another injury-time goal to secure a point away at West Ham. That means Michael Carrick is now unbeaten in five games in charge at Old Trafford and with Chelsea also dropping points, they remain in a strong position to secure Champions League football.
United have now started a 13-day break between the draw with West Ham and the trip to Everton on February 23, but as ever with this club, there is plenty to discuss. We asked for your questions, and you delivered.
We run weekly question and answer sessions, so click here to submit your questions, and we'll answer them next week. Here are the answers to some of this week's questions:
Could Ugarte be loaned out? He needs to improve a lot, we are conceding a lot of goals when he comes on the pitch and we have thrown away some leads when he has come on.
Ugarte's stock is pretty low at the moment and the stats make for grim reading. His introduction against Fulham when United then lost control of the game might well be the final straw.
A loan is put forward as the solution by one reader and there was interest in taking the Uruguayan on loan in January, but I think that will be a last resort for United. It seems clear Ugarte is never going to make it at United. He doesn't look suited to the Premier League and his passing isn't good enough.
I think there will be a desire to sell him this summer, but that might be easier said than done. Don't rule out a loan with an option or obligation to buy, which is increasingly becoming the way of things with players leaving the Premier League for Europe.
Why can't United extend Casemiro's contract by a year?
We had quite a few questions on Casemiro and all related to this one. Why can't he stay for another year? On form at the moment, you could make the argument he is one of the most important players in the squad.
But it is often about knowing when the right time is to say goodbye, and the feeling is that we have reached that point this summer. Casemiro turns 34 in a couple of weeks and if United return to Europe next season, he would find the demands of two games a week much more difficult.
The rhythm of this season has benefited him, but it probably won't next season. His salary would also go back up to around £350,000-a-week and that is a burden United don't want to carry, especially if he couldn't play every game.
Replacing him won't be easy, but it feels like this is the right time to part ways.
My concern is about the defence because we are conceding too many goals. What is being done to address this?
We have had a few questions on the defence recently and concerns about the team conceding too many goals, many of them, it should be said, before the clean sheet against Tottenham.
It was interesting to hear Carrick reference his frustration at conceding such a soft goal at West Ham on Tuesday. He was pleased that his team stuck at it and found a way to score, but it could have been a winner rather than an equaliser, but for some poor defending.
Generally, however, I think the defence has improved under Carrick. Two clean sheets in five games is the same number achieved in the 22 games before he took over.
The partnership between Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez is also looking strong. I think they offer a good balance and I'm told they love playing alongside each other. That has only ever happened 16 times in a back four for United.
Will JJ Gabriel play any matches with the senior team?
It's been an interesting week for 15-year-old JJ Gabriel, who was sent off for United Under-18s in a Premier League Cup quarter-final win against West Brom on Tuesday before the red card was overturned on Thursday.
The forward will now be eligible to play for the United-18s against Oxford next week, but in terms of the senior team, we will have to wait until pre-season and then maybe the 2026/27 season to get a glimpse of him.
Gabriel is too young to be eligible to play in the Premier League this season and while he could have played in the FA Cup, it was considered too soon for him.
He doesn't turn 16 until October, but with plenty of first-team players likely to be at the World Cup this summer, I think there is a good chance we see him in pre-season. He has already trained with the first team.
United only have one specialist player for right-back and left-wing in Dalot and Cunha. Could they sign Rafael Leao and Martim Fernandes to fix this?
I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever seen Fernandes play. A quick Google search suggests a promising player. I would argue United do have two right-backs, in Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui. If there's a criticism, it is that they are maybe too similar. There is maybe an argument to bring in a more attacking right-back.
That is a position on United's long-term list, but it won't be a top priority this summer. That will be revamping the midfield, and there will be a desire to look at the left wing as well.
I reported last week that they are monitoring Yan Diomande at RB Leipzig. The 19-year-old is having a brilliant season but there could be competition for his signature. I've not heard anything to suggest they hold an interest in Leao.
I have often thought Lisandro Martinez would be perfect as a holding midfielder to replace Casemiro. Is this possible?
A couple of people suggested this. Martinez did play 45 minutes as a holding midfielder at Aston Villa just before Christmas and he played there a little bit for Ajax, but it's not an option United will look at long-term.
Martinez is an outstanding centre-back, possibly the best at the club. He is also left-footed, which offers great balance in defence. He plays there because it's his best position and even if he were to be moved, it would only open up another problem in the centre of defence.